Clementine Alone
by WalkingDeadRox
Summary: Clementine leaves Savannah but she can't find Christa or Omid. Figuring that they are gone like everyone else, she now has to survive on her own. Will she expand on everything that Lee taught her and live or will she fail to adapt and die? Story inspired and directed by gaara king of the sand.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hey guys. I'm doing something different for once. I'm actually going to use a colder Clementine, but she's not going to be a sociopath or a jerk. She's just going to be a bit cold and mature. Also, this next part is important. Make sure you thank gaara king of the sand (That is an author on the site. I have not watched too much Naruto… yet.) He came to me and talked to me about making this fic. Without him, this fic wouldn't exist right now.**

 **Also, there will be a flashback… it'll be in italics.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own** _ **The Walking Dead**_ **. All rights reserved to their respective owners.**

Clementine walked through the dark forest with her handgun at the ready. She didn't know why she carried it. It was dangerous for her to use the weapon. The handgun did its job of as a device used for a quick kill, but it also attracted more of the walkers.

She continued through the forest which for some reason reminded her of the forest that surrounded the motor inn… It brought back painful memories. Tears started to form in her eyes and she huffed out a sob. Everything was ruined. She was alive, but at what cost? All of her friends and family were dead. Kenny, Katjaa, Duck, Carley, Chuck, Ben, Christa, Omid, Molly, and most of all her own parents and the man that looked after her as if she was his own, Lee, were gone. Most of them died, and some were unknown, but now, she was all alone.

"No…" Clementine said to herself. "No more crying. You don't have a right to. You brought this upon yourself. You were too weak. Now you have to get strong." She was different. It may not have been what her parents wanted, but that didn't matter anymore. She wiped the tears away with the sleeve of her newly acquired sweatshirt and noticed that there was some sediment on her face. "I need to wash up." Clementine said as she continued to look for a restroom or a stream.

It didn't take long for her to spot one. It was part of a gas station by the looks of it. She made her approach but was surprised by a flock of crows coming out of the bushes. She gasped, but once she realized it was nothing more than crows, she breathed out a sigh of relief. "I never really liked crows." Clementine muttered. "They look… evil." She continued toward the edge of the forest and looked around for humans and walkers alike. Upon seeing nothing, she made her way across the deserted road.

Since Clementine was out in the open, she made sure to stay on high alert. She had learned the hard way that staying out in the open was bad. Such was the case after she got out of Savannah. Despite being four months ago, she still remembered it vividly.

 _Clementine looked into the distance and saw two figures approaching her. At first, she thought it was Christa and Omid, but she couldn't tell from where she stood. They were too far away. She opened her mouth to yell for them, but stopped herself. What if they were worse than walkers? What if they were bandits? Rapists? Psychopaths? She closed her mouth and looked to the destroyed car that was nearby. She ran for the car and hid behind it._

 _Several minutes ticked by until she could hear footsteps. It definitely wasn't a pair of walkers. "What the fuck?" A man's voice grumbled. Clementine stayed out of sight by going around the car to stay hidden. "I know I saw something. Looked like a kid." She heard the licking of lips which sent a cold chill down her spine. It didn't sound right. "She looked good too. She would have made a fine treat."_

 _She shuttered from the grotesque detail until she heard another man chuckle. "I bet. I never seen your fat-ass move that fast in a long time." The other man said._

" _Watch it, you piece of shit." The first man hissed._

" _I think this heat is getting to you." The second man said._

" _Oh, is it now?" The first man asked with hostility in his voice. Clementine knew what was going to happen next._

" _I highly suggest you calm down." The second man said. She huffed and closed her eyes. She knew what was going to happen next. BANG! With the dreaded sound filling the air, Clementine bolted from behind the car and made a mad dash away from the two men._

" _HEY!" She heard one of the men screamed. She didn't dare look back. She had to get away. Clementine kept going and made sure that there was always coverage or something behind her. She kept running until she found a nearby road. She looked around debating whether to keep running or hide underneath an abandoned car. She chose the latter and ducked underneath the vehicle. She huffed to catch her breath until she heard loud footsteps running up to where she was minutes ago. "Fuck…" The man muttered. Clementine could tell it was the first man. Just her luck._

" _Come out, come out, wherever you are sweetie. I just want to play a game with you." The man said. It definitely didn't sound right, and it sent chills down her spine. She watched as the man approached the car that she was hiding under. He stood in front of the vehicle with his feet only a couple inches from her face._

 _Several tense seconds ticked by until finally he moved again. Clementine breathed out a silent breath before she felt something grab her ankle and she was dragged out from behind the car. She screamed from the sudden contact, but stopped when she came face-to-face with the man._

" _Oh, there you are." The man said. He knocked the handgun from her hands and tried to undress her. However, Clementine wasn't going to let him. She fought back with every bit of strength that she had left, but she was on fumes. The Stranger didn't give her much to eat or drink back at the Marsh House, and she was exhausted from staying up all night to get away from the herd in Savannah. "Now darling, if you keep fighting me like this, I will make it more painful for you."_

 _Despite her fading strength she continued to fight. She fought for Lee, for her parents, for Christa, for Omid, for Katjaa, for Duck, for Carley, for Kenny, and for everyone else who kept her alive. She wasn't going to let their sacrifice be in vain. Suddenly, hope, in the form of a walker, came limping towards her and the man. He was too busy tossing her sweatshirt aside to notice that he was in danger. The walker limped closer and closer until finally it was in range. "No!" Clementine shouted and she used her remaining strength to kick the man back. The man was stunned by her strength for a second, but his amazement turned into agony and pain as the walker sunk its teeth into his neck._

" _AARGGHH!" The man shouted as the walker ripped part of his neck off._

 _Clementine huffed as she crawled away from the gruesome scene. She huffed as she watched the man fall onto the ground and the walker on top of him. She got up and went over to retrieve her gun. She was more exhausted at that point than what she was before. She turned back to the man and said, "I… won't… die… not yet." She turned and started to drag herself away from the feeding frenzy. Her legs felt like rubber bands, her eyes threatened to close shut, her stomach growled for food, and half of her was covered in the blood of the undead, but she was alive…_

Clementine approached the bathroom door and opened it. She made her approach inside and kept her gun up. She looked in all directions but didn't find any walkers or people.

She walked to the first stall within the bathroom and opened the door. "Ew…" Clementine muttered as she looked to the toilet. Half the bowl was destroyed and there was toilet water and dung all over the floor. "That is really gross." Clementine said as she shut the door. Clementine went to the next door and saw that it was empty and thankfully the toilet remained intact. She turned her attention to the third door and opened it to see that it was empty as well.

Clementine breathed out a sigh of relief and said, "Good." She went up to the bathroom mirror and placed her backpack and gun on the sink. She pulled out a handkerchief and wetted it with a water bottle. She then wiped her face with the handkerchief. She remember when her mother used to do the same but with a washcloth. It felt so long ago…

Clementine finished, but when she looked up to the mirror, there was a teenage girl right behind her. Clementine's eyes widened and she went for her gun, but she was too late. The teenager grabbed her and threw her aside. Clementine landed on the ground, but was unscathed from the shove. She got up, but just as she figured, the teenager had her gun in hand. "Don't move or I'll pop you." The teenager hissed.

"Who are you?" Clementine asked as she raised her hands up in surrender.

"None of your business." The girl hissed. She looked to Clementine with a scowl before she turned to the backpack on the edge of the sink. "What is all this shit? Why don't you got anything good?" She turned her attention back to Clementine and said, "Hey, I asked you a question."

Clementine remained silent. She had nothing to say to the girl. "You really testing my patience. What else you have? Huh?" The teenager asked.

"Nothing else. The backpack and the gun is all I have now." Clementine said.

The hostile teenager glared at her; however, her eyes shifted to her hat and said, "Give me that hat."

Clementine shook her head and said, "I can't do that."

"Bitch, does it look like I'm playing?" The girl inquired. "Give me the hat or I will pop you." Clementine didn't say anything which made the girl grumble to herself. The girl went through Clementine's backpack and asked, "Why don't you have anything good. The last people I stole from had all kinds of shit. You're just a little fish… a little fish that tries to act tough when you have nothing to back it up."

"You're one to talk." Clementine said.

"What?" The girl inquired. She left the backpack and grabbed Clementine by her sweatshirt. She picked up Clementine and pinned her against the wall with the handgun aimed at Clementine's face. "You want to repeat that you little bitch?" The girl hissed.

"You're nothing." Clementine said without missing a beat. "You think you know how to survive, but in reality, you're stealing and abusing the true survivors." Clementine could hear the dreadful sounds of walkers, but it seemed that the girl was too preoccupied with Clementine to notice.

"You little bitch! I should kill you for talking to me like that!" The girl shouted in Clementine face. "You know what?" The girl's anger soon turned into an evil smirk and she continued, "Since you think all I do is talk, I'll show you what happens when people piss me off." The girl placed the barrel of the gun to Clementine's head, but Clementine could see one of the walkers approach the girl from behind.

The girl turned her head and muttered, "Shit…" She released Clementine from her grip and took aim at the walker. Clementine got up as the girl fired a shot in its shoulder which staggered it. Another walker limped towards her and she fired again. This time it was a headshot. The walker jolted back and fell to the ground.

Clementine started to walk away from the girl. She knew that there were only two bullets in her gun. The girl took aim at the first walker and pulled the trigger but the gun clicked. "Shit!" The girl exclaimed. She tried to get away from the walker but to no avail. The walker latched onto her and bit down on her neck. The girl screamed as the walker tore a chunk of her neck out. Her blood saturated the ground and the walker continued to feast on her. Clementine rushed over and picked up her gun. She grabbed her backpack and ran out the restroom door. She knew the place was going to be surrounded in a few minutes. She ran down the road as fast as her legs could carry her, but as she ran, she knew that she was faced with the same dilemma that she faced in Savannah. Everything looked really bad, but she was alive…

… **To be continued.**

 **A/N: This series will have shorter chapters than my other series. Chapters should range from 2000 to 4000 words instead of 4000 to 6500.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own** _ **The Walking Dead**_ **. All rights reserved to their respective owners.**

 **Months Later**

Clementine walked through the forest. The crisp air moved around her. For once, it was pleasant. It wasn't scorching hot or freezing cold. However, she knew that the further she moved up north, the colder the winters would become, but she would adjust. "Hey, come on. It'll only be a matter of time till Shel and the others notice that we're missing." A young girl said. She wore a white long sleeve shirt, a pair of blue jeans, and a pair of brown boots. Her hair was dark brown and reached her shoulders.

Clementine was different since the incident with the scavenger. She had gotten taller, and she had received a couple of scars. Each scar told a story of how close she had come to dying by the hands of another human. She wore a purple and white stripped long sleeve shirt, a pair of blue jeans, and a pair of blue shoes.

"Right." Clementine said and she joined alongside the teenager.

"Man, I can't stand it anymore. It feels like Shel is suffocating me." The girl complained.

"She cares about you Becca. She just doesn't want to see you get hurt." Clementine said.

"I guess so. It just gets old after a while." Becca said.

Clementine didn't really respond after that. She wished that she had some family again or someone who could look after her like how Shel looked after Becca. She looked down the path that they were walking and looked around to the changing leaves. "Winter's coming." Clementine said.

"Yeah, it's going to suck this year." Becca said.

"I used to like it." Clementine said. "Snowmen, hot chocolate, Christmas decorations, Christmas… it made winter such a blast."

"Yeah, problem is that those things are gone." Becca said. "Now we're left with a miserable and cold three months."

"Must you always be so positive?" Clementine said in sarcastic tone.

"Shut up." Becca said with a smirk.

Clementine smiled back to the teenager. She wouldn't want to admit it, but Clementine did find Becca to be fun to hang out with. It was nice to have someone close to her age. The two kept walking down the path and were surprised to see a vehicle on the path. It was surrounded by a couple of walkers.

"That's odd." Becca whispered. "That wasn't there last time I walked down through here. Come on. We can take these guys." She smirked and pulled out a handgun. Clementine's eyes widened in horror upon seeing the weapon. She had no idea that Becca was armed.

"What do you think you're doing?" Clementine whispered. "A gun should be your last resort."

"What? Why?" Becca asked as she scowled at Clementine.

"You'll only draw more walkers from using it. Let's just take them down. There's only two of them." Clementine said.

Becca growled to herself and she said, "Fine, but if I get bit, it's your fault."

Clementine nodded and she pulled out her knife. She approached the first walker with Becca following close behind her. Clementine got closer and closer to the walker as the creature stared in the opposite direction. Its sickening growl emanated from its decaying mouth. Finally, Clementine was close enough to the walker and she kicked the back of its leg. The walker fell to the ground with a pained growl, and Clementine walked around its body to deliver a stab to the back of its head.

"Sick." Becca said. The other walker snapped its head in their direction, and it went around the car. "Oh shit." Becca muttered.

Clementine went into action and evaded the walker's grab. She stabbed the walker's leg which made the creature fall to the ground. With the walker on the ground, Clementine drew her secondary knife and stabbed the back of the second walker's skull. She huffed before she looked over to Becca's shocked face.

"How many knives do you have?" Becca asked as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Three…." Clementine huffed. "And that's all I'm willing to tell you." She walked up to the walker and withdrew her two knives. She wiped the blood off of them and turned to the vehicle.

"I guess we should look inside." Clementine said as she turned back to the car. She and Becca looked inside to see if there were any more walkers, but there were none in sight. Clementine opened the door and noticed a map on the dashboard. She took the map and opened it up as Becca rummaged through the backseats.

Clementine looked through the map and noticed a tail that was marked on the map. It led the way through North and South Carolina. She turned the map over and the directions continued with explanations of how to get through Virginia and West Virginia. The final destination was called Wellington. Clementine continued to examine the map, and by the looks of it, Wellington was somewhere in Ohio.

"Oh f*** this!" Becca exclaimed from the backseat. She stumbled up to where Clementine was and she continued, "I couldn't find shit. The car doesn't have anything."

Clementine was too entranced by the map to notice or even listen to Becca. She was busy analyzing and studying the map's content. She wondered what was at Wellington.

"Yo, Earth to Clementine." Becca said as she waved her hand in front of Clementine's face.

Clementine was brought back to reality and she shook her head. "Sorry." Clementine said as she looked over to Becca. "What is it?"

"Are you okay? I haven't seen you space out like that since you showed up at the gas station." Becca said.

"I'm fine." Clementine said as she looked back to the map.

"So, are you going to tell me what you found?" Becca asked.

Clementine pondered on telling her recent friend of the maps content. Part of her wanted to say nothing and head up to Wellington alone, but she didn't want her friendship with Becca to be destroyed over a stupid piece of paper. She didn't even know what was at Wellington. "It's a map with directions to go to Wellington." Clementine said.

"Wellington? Where's that at?" Becca asked.

"According to this, it's up in Ohio. It's close to Michigan." Clementine said.

"Shit… that would be a long walk." Becca said. "So, what's all the way up there?"

"That's what I'm wondering." Clementine said as she looked to the map. A few seconds ticked by as Clementine looked through the map. Meanwhile, Becca tapped her finger on the armrest. She was becoming impatient. "Hmm… all it does is give directions to Wellington. It doesn't really say why Wellington is so important. My guess would be that it's a safe zone."

"Yeah, no shit." Becca snapped. "Come on, I need details."

"I can't find anything on here, Becca. Like I said, the only thing on here is directions." Clementine said.

Becca grumbled to herself and said, "This is stupid. Why would these f****** idiots not put down why they're going to Wellington?"

Clementine shrugged before she looked back to the road. "Maybe we can-" However, she stopped herself when she saw a couple of walkers coming out of the woods. "Crap… Becca, we gotta go." Clementine said as she got out of the car.

"Shit… right behind you." Becca said.

The two girl raced back for the secret hole that they used to get away from the gas station.

* * *

They continued to run despite the fact that the walkers were no longer in sight. Clementine knew better than to slow down and allow the undead pursuers to even catch up. She wasn't alive at this point because of making senseless mistakes like that, so she ran. The two approached the hole in the fence and huffed. "Okay… well… that sucked." Becca huffed. The two regained their composure after a minute or two, and Clementine went through the hole in the fence.

Her eyes widened when she saw the leader of the group, Roman, and Becca's older sister, Shel, glaring at her. She and Becca were caught. "Hey Clem, what's the hold up?" Becca asked.

Clementine continued to crawl through the hole and got up. "We're caught, Becca." Clementine said.

"You're shitting me." Becca whispered.

"I'm afraid not." Roman said as he approached Clementine. "You two girls are in serious trouble. You both know better than to go outside."

"Becca, get back behind the fence, now." Shel said in a scolding tone.

Becca did as she was told, but she was not very happy. She wiggled her way through the hole and looked up to Shel. "I'm thirteen, not a f****** baby!" Becca snapped.

"Becca, we're only concerned about your safety." Roman said. He turned to Clementine and said, "Look, I understand that you went through a lot while you were out there, but you have to stay in here. It's for your own safety."

Safety?" Clementine asked. "The best way to ensure our safety is by teaching us what it takes to survive. Roman, I have complete respect for what you're trying to do, but it won't work. This place will fall one day, and when that happens, we have to be ready."

"She isn't wrong, you know?" An older man said. The four turned to see Boyd approaching them. Clementine learned that Boyd was part of the group that took the boat after spending a couple of days with Roman's group. "As much as I hate to admit it, these are trying times, and there are at least a hundred ways to die out there. None of them are pleasant either. These kids have to be ready for what lies ahead."

Clementine sent an appreciative smile to Boyd. She was thankful that at least one person agreed on her idea.

Roman sighed before he turned to the two girls. "Alright, I know when I'm beat. So, are you both alright? Did either of you get hurt?"

"I'm fine." Becca muttered before she stormed off.

"Becca, wait…" Shel said with a pleading tone in her voice.

Clementine turned to Roman asked, "Do you happen to know what Wellington is?"

Roman hummed and thought to himself. "Wellington… Wellington. I've heard that name before." Roman said. He looked back to Clementine and said, "Where'd you hear of that?"

"I found a map leading to it." Clementine said as she presented the map to Roman.

Roman took the map and looked it over for a couple of minutes. Meanwhile, Clementine watched him. She kept an eye on his movements and his facial expressions. She didn't know how he would react to the map.

"Hmm… I see. Now, I remember. Wellington was a city before the apocalypse, but it has since been turned into a massive safe zone." Roman said as he folded up the map. "Thank you, Clementine." He started to walk away much to Clementine's shock.

"Wait." Clementine said as she ran after Roman. Roman stopped and turned to the approaching child. "We should try to head up there." Clementine said.

"Are you insane?" Roman asked with a surprised stare. "A trip that long could take us a good couple of years. It will take longer if there's a herd of walkers or bandits along the way which is likely to be the case."

"Well, if it's a safe zone, it could be worth all the trouble." Boyd said.

"No, it can't." Roman said. "It's too dangerous to travel north. Besides, things are working here."

"For now, but what happens when this place falls?" Clementine asked.

"Then we'll cross that bridge when we get to it." Roman said and he walked away from the two.

Clementine crossed her arms over chest with an angry scowl forming on her face. Roman was so stubborn at times, and it made her furious. She wasn't going to let the gas station be the motor inn all over again.

"Don't worry. I'll talk to him about it tomorrow. Between you girls sneaking out and all this talk about Wellington, he's starting to get a little stressed." Boyd said. He looked down to Clementine with a smile and said, "Come on, supper's almost ready."

Clementine nodded and followed Boyd. Clementine stayed rather quiet as she and Boyd approached Red's Diner. She could hear Becca practicing with her guitar and she could feel Joyce's hateful glare on top of her. Either way, it didn't matter anymore. Clementine was leaving tonight and she would head toward Wellington.

 **Night**

Clementine opened her eyes and she looked around in the room. It was a basic set-up for her. There was a cot on the floor with her backpack next to it. She turned herself around on the cot and noticed that Joyce and Clive were asleep in their own cots; however, to her surprise, Boyd was missing. He must have been on watch. Clementine got up and placed her valuables in her backpack, then she went to the door. She opened the door and slipped through, so that neither the older woman nor the older man would wake.

Clementine crept down the stairs and grabbed a couple of cans of food and several bottles of water. She turned to the exit and snuck out through the back door. She walked past the walkers which were used as guard dogs and went toward Roman's room in the gas station. She could hear Roman's loud snoring as she approached the building. She crouched down to the ground and made a silent approach inside. First, she had to grab some medicine and supplies. She knew where Roman kept the medicine. It was in the back room which used to be the employee's break room. She crept that way first and grabbed a needle, some string, some gauze, some medical wrap, a bottle of disinfectant, a couple containers of over-the-counter medicine, and a couple of containers of prescription medicine.

There was only one thing left that she had to grab. She had to grab the directions to get to Wellington. She crept up the stairs and went for Roman's room. The man's snoring was getting louder and louder. She took a deep breath in and a deep breath out. She hoped that Roman wouldn't wake and think that she was an intruder. She could get killed if she wasn't careful.

Clementine opened the door and she looked around the room. It didn't take her long to spot a piece of paper on the desk. She crept towards it with her eyes glued to the floor. She wanted to avoid tripping over anything on the floor. She maneuvered her way across the room and grabbed the paper on the table. It was the directions. Clementine smiled and headed back to the door. Again she was careful on where she tread and she closed the door.

Clementine exited the building and stood upright. Now, it was a straight shot to the outside. It was good for her to leave. It seemed that she always got someone killed, and even though she and Joyce didn't get along, she still didn't want to see anyone die.

"So, this is it, then." Boyd's voice came from behind her. Clementine jumped before she turned to the older man.

Upon realizing that it was just Boyd, she sighed and said, "Yeah… I have to do this. I know you're going to try to stop me."

Boyd scoffed and said, "Try is right. Not like I could stop you."

Clementine pondered on his words and she also pondered on the fact that he was out of bed because he knew that she was leaving. "How did you know that I was planning to leave?" Clementine asked.

"I may be old, but these eyes still pick up on things. I could tell that you were more quiet than usual at dinner, and your eyes were darting all over the place." Boyd said.

Clementine felt like kicking herself for giving away obvious clues; however, her thoughts were interrupted by Boyd speaking again. "Either way, I know better than to stop you. I just wanted to see you off." Boyd said.

Clementine smiled and said, "Thanks Boyd."

Boyd smiled back and said, "Be careful out there."

Clementine nodded before she went up to the older man. She hugged him for a couple of seconds before she darted off. She ran for the opening in the fence and crawled through it again, but this time, she wouldn't come back. She pulled out her knife and the map, and she began her long trek to Wellington.

… **To be continued.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own** _ **The Walking Dead**_ **. All rights reserved to their respective owners.**

The cold wind whistled through the trees as Clementine tried to keep the fire strong. However, her attempts were in vain. The wood was too wet to burn. The area was left soaked after a recent rainstorm, and it didn't help that it was nighttime. She poked the fire with a stick to keep it lit. She huffed and looked up to the dark forest. It seemed like she was hitting a wall. She had no idea where she was and how close she was to Wellington.

She got up and sat down on a log. She watched the dying embers of the fire burn out as she thought of all of her experiences. Everything she has done. All the people she has met and the few that have died for her, they were the only thing that she could think about anymore. She looked down to her worn out clothes and sighed. She had to wear clothes that would protect her rather than choosing clothes that were appealing to her. She wore a purple hooded sweatshirt, a pair of cargo pants, and a pair of athletic shoes. "This is what life is like." Clementine said to herself. She couldn't help but be depressed over what had happened during the last couple of years.

She was getting close to Wellington, but it still felt so far away. She had spent so much time trying to find the strength to get Wellington. However, she didn't think of what she would do once she was up there. She was brought out of her thoughts when she heard a twig snap. Clementine gasped and she stood up. She looked around the dark forest, but she couldn't find what had broken the twig. She pulled out her hatchet and waited for a couple seconds. She looked around the area one last time until she could hear the moans of a walker.

The undead creature came out from behind a tree and had its arms extended out. It limped toward her with a satisfied snarl. Clementine looked around and noticed that there was movement behind the walker. She ran to the walker and hacked at its leg. The creature fell to the ground and Clementine delivered a quick slash to its head. She pulled the hatchet out of the walker's skull and noticed that more and more walkers were heading towards her. She wondered why there were so many walkers. The fire wasn't that noticeable, and the area had been rather quiet for the whole evening. It was possible that someone was using the walkers to attack her or the limping terrors were part of a herd that happened to be passing through the area.

Clementine hacked at a shorter walker and the creature fell down. She tried to yank the hatchet out of the walker's skull, but the weapon had become dull and was stuck. She jumped back as a walker lunged for her. She ran over and grabbed her backpack as another walker tried to grab her. She weaved away from the walker and she started to run from the herd. However, a couple of walkers blocked her path.

Clementine backed away, and she looked around for another escape. However, there was none to be seen. The walkers had surrounded her and were only getting closer. She looked behind and saw a small opening in the walkers' approach. She ran over to the opening and slid through it. Somehow, none of the walkers grabbed her. She got up and ran away from the gathering herd. Several minutes passed until she found an abandoned camp. She huffed for a couple of seconds before she looked inside a van. It was rusted, but if the side door could close; she could hide inside. She got inside and grunted as she forced the side door to close. The door groaned and shrieked as Clementine struggled to close it. However, she finally managed to shut the door. She huffed and looked out the window to the dark forest. She had more time to think to herself, but she was rather hungry. She would have to find food in the abandoned camp in the morning.

Clementine's eyes fluttered open and she sat upright upon seeing that there was light outside. She got up and maneuvered her way to the passenger seat of the van before exiting it. Outside she noticed that the abandoned camp was torn apart. She didn't notice its state last night since she was trying to get away from a herd of walkers and it was dark. There were empty cans, pots, and other debris scattered throughout the camp along with a couple of tents. One was in a shattered mess and the other was burnt to ashes. Clementine continued to look around until she heard something moving in the bushes. "Not again." Clementine muttered. She pulled out a knife from one of her pockets and she opened the blade up. She didn't want a repeat of last night.

Suddenly, a dog popped out of the bushes. Clementine breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing the dog, but her relief soon became uneasiness. The dog showed its teeth and growled at the girl. "It's okay, boy. As long as you don't attack me, I won't attack you." Clementine said. The dog didn't advance toward her, but it didn't back down either. Clementine knew why. The dog must have been intimidated by the knife in her possession.

Clementine looked to the knife, but she was hesitant to close it up. If she closed up the knife, then the dog could run up and attack her. Either way, the stalemate had the potential of lasting for a long time; time that Clementine didn't have. Clementine released a sigh and she closed up the blade on her pocket knife. The dog relaxed upon seeing her action. "I'm trusting you to not attack me, okay?" Clementine said to the dog. The dog barked in response, and Clementine started to look around the camp for food. She could hear her stomach growl as she searched. She had to find something to eat even if it wasn't a large amount of food.

She had exhausted every area in the camp in her search for food, except one. However, she wouldn't think that the garbage can would have anything edible inside. Clementine released a sigh and said, "Alright. It's all I got left." She pulled up the sleeves of her sweatshirt and searched inside the trash. She cringed a bit as she continued her search. It was disgusting, but it wasn't the worst thing she has ever done. Finally, her search ended when she felt something metallic and it had a cylinder shape. She pulled it out of the trash and a smile formed on her lips. "Yes. Thank you." The can had some weight to it which meant that there was something inside. Plus, it remained intact. She took the can over to a nearby log and started to open it with her pocket knife.

She jabbed the knife into the weak aluminum lid and tried to cut it off. She pulled the blade back and did another cut. She could see the contents inside. It wasn't spoiled, and it actually gave off a sweet aroma. Clementine made one last cut before she could pull the lid off. She breathed out a sigh of relief and poured some of the beans into her hand. She ate a few handfuls of the food until the dog approached her. It showed her a set of sad eyes that looked to the food. Clementine sighed and said, "Alright." She poured some beans in her hands and offered it to the dog.

The dog gulped the beans down in one bite before it snapped the can out of Clementine's hand. "Hey!" The girl exclaimed as the dog ate from the can. "Don't eat it all." Clementine said as she grabbed the can. The dog looked to her with a vicious stare and it showed its teeth again. It clamped down on her arm with its teeth and pulled her to the ground. Clementine yelled out in fear and surprised until she hit the ground. She looked up to see the dog lunge for her, but she brought her arm up to defend herself. Clementine yelped in pain as the dog bit down on her arm. She looked around to see where her knife had went to and saw that it was in arm's reach. Clementine extended her arm out and grabbed the knife. She slashed at the dog's nose which force the canine to withdraw for a second.

However, the dog wasn't done with her. It must have had a taste of human flesh, and it wanted more. The dog lunged for Clementine again, but the girl was able to kick the dog away with her leg. She scrambled backwards and used a tree to help her stand up again. "Sheesh." Clementine muttered. She could hear the dog whimpering and gasping for air. Clementine walked over to the dog and saw that it was impaled by two tent poles from the shattered tent. The dog was kicking and whimpering in pain in a hopeless attempt to be freed from the poles.

Clementine huffed and said, "You deserve that." She looked to the dog with a scowl before she walked off. "Stupid dog." Clementine muttered as she nursed her bitten arm with her other arm. The pain was searing, and without much food in her body, it would only be a matter of time till death would claim her. However, she had one chance to save herself. Her backpack had medical supplies inside, but she didn't know what she had inside of her backpack.

She went to the van as the dog whimpered. Clementine didn't shutter. The dog attacked her, after all. She only acted in self-defense. She went inside the van and got into the back of the vehicle. She looked around in her backpack and was thankful to find that she had bandages, a needle, some thread, and disinfectant. She pulled out each item and laid them in front of her. "This is going to suck." Clementine said.

She took off cap to the bottle of disinfectant and she grabbed the disinfectant. She breathed out heavy breaths and readied herself for the pain. "You're going to be fine. You're going to be fine." Clementine said to herself. She poured some of the disinfectant on her wound and she cried out in pain. She hissed in pain as she placed the disinfectant on the van floor.

Clementine huffed before she looked to the thread and needle. "Okay… I can do this." Clementine said. She took the thread, and after a couple of attempts, she pulled it through the needle. She wrapped a knot at the end of the needle and placed the needle near her skin. Once again, she readied herself for the pain, but this time would be different. This time would be more painful.

Clementine took in a deep breath before she pushed the needle through her arm. She gasped and cried out in pain. After she calmed herself, she huffed and tears started to form in her eyes. She pulled the needle through despite the pain. She tried to calm herself down as she continued to sew up her arm. The pain was unrivaled to anything she had ever experienced. However, she was thankful that the worst part of cleaning the wound was almost over. More agony and pained screams came from the girl until finally she was finished. Her arm felt like it was on fire. She took her pocket knife and sliced the thread and needle off. "Glad that's over." Clementine huffed.

She took the bandages and wrapped them around her arm. The searing pain remained in her arm. She finished wrapping her arm and place all of her belongings in her backpack with her one good arm. She didn't want to use her injured arm since she didn't want it to become irritated. She then laid down again and said, "Well Lee. It hasn't been easy, but I'm alive. I guess that's all that counts, right?" She wanted to rest and call it a day, but she knew that she had to keep going. She grunted as she sat upright. She grabbed her backpack and exited the van. She started to head out of the camp, but she looked over to the dog. The animal was dead. Clementine used to like animals but not anymore. Ever since the walkers came, animals were either food or a hazard. She headed deeper into the forest in hopes of finding food, water, and maybe even shelter.

Clementine's eyes widened when she saw the cabin. Perhaps, it could be exactly what she was looking for. The cabin was rather big. It stuck out like a sore thumb as opposed to the forests surrounding it.

Clementine approached the cabin, but she knew better than to be wrapped up in the excitement of a big find. It was never easy. There had to have been a catch. She approached the building with her eyes darting in every direction. Suddenly, something caught her eye. It was a man armed with a hunting rifle. He raised the gun up and Clementine darted away from the cabin. She heard a shot fire and the bullet was heard hitting a tree. "Get the f*** back here!" The man hissed.

Clementine chose to ignore his command. She went into the forest and hid behind a bush. She huffed for a second before she took her backpack off. She pulled out her handgun and waited for the man to enter the forest. She waited for the man approach while also catching her breath. Soon enough, she could hear footsteps rushing to where she was at. "Where the f*** are you at?" The man hissed.

"Nick!" Another man could be heard. "Slow down. You probably scared the poor kid half to death."

"Hey, that little shit got too close for comfort!" The man, Nick, exclaimed.

"And you think shooting at her is going to solve anything? Dammit boy. You probably woke up every lurker in this forest." The other man said.

"What did you want me to do, Pete?" Nick inquired.

"I wanted you to use your head and come get me and Luke." The man, Pete, explained.

"Whatever…" Nick muttered.

Clementine looked around to see if there was an opening. The two men were still busy arguing with one another. She could still slip by. She was about to make her move, but someone grabbed her from behind and began to choke her. She thrashed in the person's grip as the person grunted. "It's alright. Stop struggling. We aren't going to hurt you." A man said. Clementine's strength was fading and she struggled to maintain consciousness. Her vision became blurry and all she could see was the trees and grass before she lost consciousness.

… **To be continued.**

 **A/N: Haha… I remembered that you guys love my cliffhangers.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own** _ **The Walking Dead**_ **. All rights reserved to their respective owners.**

Clementine's vision started out blurry as she opened her eyes, and her ears couldn't register much of anything that wasn't mumbling and muffled arguments. However, her ears and eyes finally adjusted back into reality. There were several people standing over her. An older man was to her left, next to him was a young man with hat and a hunting rifle aimed at her, and next to him was a pregnant woman with a stocky man behind her.

Clementine looked to the rifle being aimed at her and she couldn't help but to become tense. It wasn't a very favorable predicament for her. She tried to scoot back as the pregnant woman hissed. "Can someone tell me what the f*** is going on?"

"Calm down, Rebecca." The older man said. He sounded familiar. It was the same man that was arguing with a man named Nick before she passed out.

"Calm down? How the f*** do I calm down when you're dragging people here, and this dumbass is shooting anything he sees." The woman, Rebecca, hissed and she gave the man with the hat a glare.

"Hey, she got too close to the cabin. I was only trying to protect us." The man with the hat exclaimed. He also sounded familiar. Plus, the gun gave away his identity rather quickly. His name was Nick.

"That still wasn't smart to just shoot after her. Take aim with that thing and fire when you get a good shot. Don't just go into the f****** woods like an idiot." Rebecca hissed. Clementine was still moving back from the rifle until she heard the woman say, "Move the gun." Next thing Clementine heard was a gunshot hitting near her. She was startled by the shot, but she breathed a sigh of relief to see that the shot didn't hit her.

She looked up to see Nick giving her a glare with his gun aimed at her head. "Don't move, f*****!" Nick spat.

"Give me that damn thing before you kill her!" Pete spat and he wrestled the gun out of Nick's hands.

"Uncle Pete! What the f***?" Nick exclaimed.

Clementine turned her head to the cabin when she heard the door slam open. "Whoa, whoa, what the f***?" A young man exclaimed. Clementine's eyes narrowed into a glare; she recognized the man's voice. That was the man that choked her.

"You idiot! That is the second time today that you fired before you actually used some f****** common sense!" Rebecca exclaimed. "Every lurker for five miles probably heard that!" Clementine turned back to the group that was in front of her and she stood up.

"Hey! She surprised me! It's not my fault!" Nick exclaimed.

"Everyone just calm down for a minute." The stocky man said.

"Hey kid, you alright?" The man who choked her asked.

Clementine sent a glare to him and she said in a cold tone of voice. "You choked me till I passed out."

The man's eyes widened and he looked to her with an apologetic stare. "I'm sorry, but I saw that you had a gun out, and I didn't know if you were going to shoot my friends. And if I tried to sneak up on you, I'm pretty sure you would have shot me." The man that had choked said.

"That gun was for my protection. I wouldn't have brought it out if one of you hadn't shot at me." Clementine said.

"F*** you." Nick spat.

"Nick, you have done enough." Pete said. "Go inside."

"You're not the boss of me!" Nick spat. "I do whatever I want now."

"Yeah, I guess acting like a complete asshole is really honoring Mariam's memory, huh boy?" Pete snapped. Nick shuttered from the mention of the name and he looked down with a frown. Pete sent an apologetic stare and he said, "Son, I'm-"

"Don't." Nick said with a hurt tone in his voice. "Don't f****** talk to me." He walked away while most members of the group watched him leave with remorseful stares.

However, Clementine had no idea what was going on. She didn't know who this Mariam woman was except that she must have died recently and she had a strong connection with Nick. She turned her head to see another man approach the group from the porch of the cabin. He appeared to be middle-aged like the stocky man of the group, but he was in better shape.

"So, is this who I have to check on?" The man asked.

"Yeah… yeah, I… found her in the woods." The man that had choked her said.

The middle-aged man approached her, but Clementine started to back away. She reached for her knife, but it was gone. She then reached back and noticed that her backpack was gone too. "Don't worry. Carlos is a doctor. He's just going to check on you." The man said.

Clementine relaxed a bit by the new information, but she still didn't know where her stuff was. "Where's my backpack and knife at?" Clementine asked.

"I took that stuff inside. It would be safer if you weren't armed." The man said.

"Safer for whom?" Clementine asked.

"That doesn't matter. We're not out to hurt you, but we need to keep our safety as top priority." Carlos said. "Now, please… come here." Clementine gave the man a distrusting glare, but she walked forward anyway. The doctor checked her face for scratches and bites along with checking her temperature with the back of his hand. "Hmm… there's a bit of a fever." Carlos said.

"She's bit?" Rebecca exclaimed.

Carlos hummed and said, "I don't know." He kept his gaze on Clementine and he said, "Were you bit recently? I have to check the wound."

"Yeah. I got bit by dog." Clementine said.

"And we're supposed to believe that bullshit." Rebecca hissed.

"Rebecca…" Pete said.

"I'll look at the wound, and determine if it's a dog bite or something else." Carlos said to Rebecca. He turned back to Clementine and said, "Show me where you were bit."

Clementine was hesitant to do so. She looked to the group and said, "All I want is my stuff back and then I'll go. You'll never see me again."

"I'm afraid we can't do that kid. Until we know what your intentions are, you'll have to stay with us. You might be working with someone that doesn't really like us." The man explained.

"And what if you're wrong? What if I'm just trying to survive?" Clementine asked.

No one responded except for the doctor who cleared his voice. "We'll cross that bridge when we get to it. For now, you aren't giving us enough information to tell us anything." Carlos said. "Now, show me where you got bit."

Clementine sighed and she pulled up the sleeve of her sweatshirt. These people were not cooperative. They weren't bandits, but they were far from being the nicest group of people that she has met. She finished pulling up the sleeve to reveal the bandages. Carlos undid the bandages and looked at the stitched up wound.

"Who did your stitching?" Carlos asked.

"I did." Clementine said without hesitation. Carlos looked to her with a questioning stare.

"Like hell you did." Rebecca said.

"Hmm… the stitching is crude, but it should hold." Carlos said. He looked over Clementine's arm for a few more seconds as Clementine got more and more fidgety. She didn't like being eyed up by this group.

Finally, Carlos finished his examination and rewrapped the wound with the bandages. He got up and approached the group.

"Well, was it a lurker bit?" The man asked.

Carlos shook his head and said, "She's telling the truth. It's a dog bite. However, I don't think we can trust her."

"Obviously." Rebecca said.

"So what do you suggest?" Pete asked.

"We keep her in the shed until we know what her intentions are." Carlos said.

"That might be for the best." The man said.

"Of course it is." Rebecca said. "Luke, do not think that you owe that little shit anything."

"Well, you heard them." Pete said. "I don't like this plan any more than you do, but we don't know anything about you. Perhaps, you can tell us something so that we don't have to put you in the shed?"

Clementine sighed as she saw the group stare at her. They all wanted information from her, but they weren't willing to tell her anything about them. She looked back to Pete and said, "My name is Clementine, and that's all I'm willing to tell you."

"That isn't enough." Carlos said. "Take her to the shed. Someone will come out here to talk to her later on tonight." He went up the stairs and headed for the door while Pete and Luke escorted her to the shed.

"This is just a waste of time." Rebecca muttered.

After Rebecca's remark, it was silent among the three as they walked closer to the shed. "Listen, I'm sorry that this happened, but we're just trying to look out for ourselves. I mean you can understand that, right?" Luke said.

Clementine didn't answer. She was angry at him for dragging her into this mess. She didn't care about his people, all she cared about was moving on with her supplies and hoping that she would never see Luke, Pete, or anyone else from the group. "We're here." Pete said. Clementine entered the shed, but she turned to the two men when she heard Pete. "We can go into the cabin if you can just tell us a bit more about yourself."

Clementine looked back to Pete and said, "I can't. There's… too many bad memories."

"Well, then, I'm sorry." Pete said. He and Luke closed the door to the shed. Clementine looked around the shed and sighed. The day wasn't going according to plan. She went from investigating a large cabin to see if it was occupied to being locked up into a shed by the cabin's inhabitants.

* * *

Clementine had been searching for an opening or a way out for the last several minutes. She was hoping that she could find a way to escape. She didn't want to be locked up like a prisoner for the whole night. She checked behind a tacklebox and her eyes widened in surprise. There was a corroded section of wood behind it with a wooden plank nailed in front of it. If it wasn't for the plank, she could escape the shed. She needed to find something to remove the plank. She got up and continued her search, but this time, she was trying to find a hammer.

It didn't take long for Clementine to eye the handle of a hammer, but it was out of reach for her. She wasn't tall enough to reach it. Clementine looked for an object that she could use to reach the hammer, but again, a plan formed rather quickly when she noticed a homemade fold-up workbench. She went to it and lifted it up. Once it was locked in place, she climbed on top of it, and she reached out for the hammer. She was so close. The tips of her fingers were touching the handle of the hammer.

Suddenly, she heard something crack. Before she knew it, the shelf with the hammer fell apart from the wall and sent her crashing down. She grunted and whined in pain from the landing and she stood up. She noticed that the shelf was on the ground next to her. She lifted it up and found the hammer underneath. She grabbed the hammer and returned to the wooden plank that blocked off the corroded wood.

Clementine used the hammer's spike to remove the wooden plank. After a few seconds, she pried the plank off with the hammer, and it fell to the ground. She got up and kicked the corroded wood away. Finally, there was an opening that was big enough for her to use to escape. She lowered herself to the ground and crawled out through the opening.

Clementine crawled outside of the shed, and to her surprise, it was nighttime. She didn't think that she was in the shed that long. Of course with winter approaching, the days were getting shorter. She looked to the cabin and she started to head toward it. Her approach wasn't as cautious as last time. She knew that there were people inside which meant that she didn't need to be looking around to see if there were any, especially when it was dark outside.

Clementine knew that she had to find another way inside. It would be suicide to use the front door. She looked around the cabin and soon found a wooden board that was covering the lattice. It was a quick and inefficient patch-up job. Clementine had to pull the board forward first before she could use her hammer. Once she pulled the board forward, she used the hammer's spike again and removed the two nails. She grabbed the board and pushed it away to reveal a hole in the lattice. She headed inside the hole and noticed that she was underneath the house. Clementine crept through the bottom of the house. She had to find a way inside and get her backpack, gun, and knife back.

"House meeting in five minutes." Someone said from within the house. It sounded like Carlos.

"That's… that's great." Another person complained. It sounded like the middle-aged stocky man from outside.

"It won't take long. There's a few things we need to discuss." Carlos replied.

"Fine." The stocky man said.

Clementine noticed a trap door and went toward it. She pulled out a pocket knife that she kept in one of her shoes and placed it between the mechanism and the lock. The pocket knife was in her shoe in the case of an emergency. After she struggled for a couple of seconds, she finally broke the lock but the blade of her knife broke off too. "Shoot." Clementine muttered. She looked to the handle with half of a blade and saw that it was useless. It had helped her in many situations. She would have to find a new one. She threw her old, broken knife aside and pushed the trap door open. At least she was inside the cabin now.

Clementine climbed into the small room which held the trap door and placed an ear against the door. She couldn't hear much of anything from the other side except the mumbling and muffled arguments of the group. However, it sounded as though that they weren't in the room that she was trying to get to. Clementine opened the door and she looked around before she turned to the stairs. She crouched down and made her approach to the stairs while weaving around the furniture within the room. The only light that she had to help her navigate was candlelight. She started to climb up the steps while being careful to not make much noise. The last thing she wanted was for the group to hear her and discover that she was inside the cabin. She had no idea where her backpack and gun were, but she would have to find out.

Clementine reached the top of the stairs and went to one of the rooms. She opened the door and was immediately frightened to see a teenage girl on the bed. The two made eye contact and were frightened by each other's presence. Clementine's cover had been blown.

… **To be continued.**

 **A/N: Hahahaha…. Man between DMW and this story, I'm leaving a lot of cliffhangers. It reminds me of the good old days where I did cliffhangers in my other stories.**

 **Btw, don't think that Sarah and Clementine are going to get along… they might get along, but keep in mind that we're dealing with a colder Clementine.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own** _ **The Walking Dead**_ **. All rights reserved to their respective owners.**

Clementine released a huff before she placed a finger to her lips in a gesture that the teenage girl needed to stay quiet.

"You're not supposed to be in here." The girl said as Clementine closed the door.

"Your people didn't give me a choice." Clementine said. "I just want to find my stuff and then I'll leave. You and your group will never see me again."

"But my dad will be really upset with me if I help you. I'm not allowed to talk to you." The girl said.

Clementine sighed and she said, "I understand that, but I can't leave without my stuff, and your people have everything I need to survive in here somewhere."

"I didn't see them bring anything in here." The girl said.

Clementine released a groan and she felt like smacking her palm against her head. "Not in this room. I mean in the cabin." Clementine hissed.

The teenager jumped back from the younger girl's harsh tone and she started to shake. "O-O-Okay… Okay… just, please don't hurt me."

Clementine breathed out a sigh and she said, "Sorry but I'm under a lot of stress right now. Your group was very hostile towards me out there and I'm scared that they're going to find me in here and kill me. But if I don't have anything when I go out there, I would die in a matter of hours."

The girl looked down and frowned. "Okay. I understand." The girl said. "I'll take you to where we keep all of our supplies. I know where that is."

"Okay… thank you." Clementine said with a tang of relief in her voice. Finally, she was catching a break.

The girl led Clementine out of the room and led her to a closet door near the end of the hallway. The teenager opened the door which revealed several rolls of bandages, two bottles of disinfectant, a first-aid kit, several rounds of ammunition, some baby supplies, a knife, a gun, and a backpack. The last three items belonged to Clementine.

Clementine grabbed her backpack first and checked it to make sure that everything was inside. Thankfully, the cabin group didn't take anything out of her backpack. She placed the backpack on and checked her gun next. There was still a full clip in it. She holstered the gun and grabbed her knife next. She was good to go.

Clementine turned to Sarah and said, "Thanks."

"Yeah… so what now?" The teenager whispered.

"I leave and that's it." Clementine said.

"Well, wait. You don't have to leave. We can be best friends. Just give my group time to trust you." The girl said.

Clementine shook her head and she said, "Two of them want me dead, and the rest wouldn't care if a walker grabbed me and chomped down on my neck."

"But… I care." The girl said. "Can't you give them a chance?"

Clementine shook her head and started to walk toward the stairs. The girl grabbed onto Clementine's arm but Clementine brought up her knife to where it was almost against the girl's neck. The girl trembled in fear and her eyes grew wide. Her body shook in fear as Clementine looked to the girl with a scowl. "Let go of my arm." Clementine said in a cold tone of voice.

The girl released Clementine's arm and Clementine withdrew the blade. She turned around and headed for the stairs. As she headed down the stairs, she could hear the teenager whimper. "She's too weak." Clementine muttered as she approached the room with the trapdoor. She opened the door and closed it before she headed back under the house. From there, it was a straight shot. All she had to do was dart for the woods once she reached the lattice.

Clementine crawled closer and closer to the lattice and she readied herself to sprint for the woods. After a couple of huffs to get ready, Clementine ran for the woods with relief finally washing over her. She would never have to go back to those people ever again.

* * *

It had been a while since Clementine had seen the cabin, and it only seemed to get darker outside. She had her flashlight out and she looked around for somewhere to spend the night. She could hear the distant moans of the walkers as she continued her trek. They were a good distance off by the sounds of their moaning, but Clementine didn't want to risk it. She had to find shelter in some form or another.

She turned the flashlight beam and saw the wooden door of a building. Her eyes widened and a small smile crept on her lips. Finally, she found shelter. She approached the wooden doors and she shined the flashlight onto the building. Clementine opened the door and shined the flashlight inside. She had to make sure that she was alone in the building.

She checked behind all of the shelving while doing her best to remain quiet. It was odd that the building was abandoned. She noticed that the shelves were full of glass jars and there was some odd device in the corner. Nevertheless, the rest of the small building appeared to be safe.

Clementine was tired but she had to make sure that the door was secured. She went over to a nearby crate and tried to push it toward the door. It was heavy which meant that even if someone or something was able to push the crate out of the way during the night, it would cause enough noise to wake her up.

Clementine pushed the box in front of the two door and huffed. "Finally… I can some rest." Clementine said. She walked over to be between two of the shelves and she laid down. She was exhausted, but at least, she found somewhere to sleep for the night.

 **Morning**

Clementine's eyes fluttered open as she looked at the window. The sun's rays pierced through the window and it illuminated the entire building that Clementine was in. She got up and headed to the doors to start on another day of walking toward Wellington. She grunted as she pushed the heavy crate just far enough so she could open the door. She stood upright and headed outside to see if there was anything nearby that she could eat.

She needed to find food, but she had a good idea where to go first. She could smell the familiar scent of water nearby. Fish wasn't her favorite thing to eat, but it was better than nothing. She followed the scent of the water as she looked around for walkers or humans. However, she didn't see anyone or anything.

She got closer and closer to the river but she stopped with wide eyes aimed at the river. "Oh my gosh…" Clementine muttered when she saw the river in sight. There were bodies everywhere. Clementine approached the bodies and she started to hyperventilate. This scared her… there weren't many things that scared the child anymore… but the massacre and the bodies sent her stress and anxiety to a whole new level. She shook her head from her thoughts and she looked around to see if the people responsible for the massacre were still around.

She shook her head in a gesture that she didn't want to find out if the people behind the massacre were still around and bolted for the woods. Her stomach wasn't growling anymore. The horrors that she saw at the river… took the apocalypse to a whole new level. She has seen evil people doing the worst things imaginable, but never on a scale that big. It was new and horrifying.

Clementine finally stopped and she looked back to see if anyone was chasing her. Thankfully, she couldn't hear any rustling of leaves or anything else that would indicate that someone was chasing her. However, she heard leaves rustling coming from the opposite direction. "Shoot." Clementine whispered as she turned her head back. She looked around for somewhere to hide and she quickly hid behind a tree.

Clementine remained hidden as the footsteps got closer. By the sounds of the footsteps, the person didn't seem to be very big or tall. It sounded like a child's footsteps. More than likely, it was someone who was the same age as her. The footsteps stopped and a few seconds went by until she could hear whimpering.

Clementine took a peek to see who was nearby and she was surprised to see a boy who appeared to be the same age as her. The boy had his eyes closed and he had tears falling down his face. For the first time in a long time, Clementine felt sympathy. She remembered that she was the same way when she lost Lee and her parents on the same day.

However, she was brought out of her thoughts when the boy yelled out. She looked to the boy to see him on the ground with a walker trying to kill him. The boy struggled with the creature as Clementine came out from cover and stabbed the walker in the skull. She pushed the dead creature away and looked back to the boy. He appeared to be surprised by the fact that she came out of nowhere and saved him. However, Clementine was also surprised by what she did. She kept asking herself why she would risk her life and blow her cover for some boy.

The boy stood on his own two feet and he said, "Um… thank you."

Clementine looked away but the boy continued, "Cool hat."

Clementine looked to the boy and she smiled. However, she stopped herself and wondered what was wrong with her. She didn't smile much anymore and it felt so weird to do so. "I… um… thanks. It belonged to my dad." Clementine said.

"I'm Gil." The boy said as he brought his hand out to introduce himself.

"I… I can't…" Clementine said as she looked away and tried to walk away from the boy. However, Gil followed her. "I can't look after you… you'll just die like everyone else."

"Then teach me… teach me how to survive." Gil said. "I just lost my family. I'm done sitting on the sidelines. Show me how to survive."

Clementine looked back to Gil with a surprised stare. She wasn't expecting the boy to be so persistent. It reminded her so much of herself when she was first on her own. She had no one to teach her, but she did have Lee's teachings fresh in her mind. All she had to do was expand on them. His persistence and wanting to survive is the main reason why Clementine considered teaching him as opposed to the girl back at the cabin. Plus, she was surrounded by a hostile group. There was nothing Clementine could do except leave. "Okay." Clementine said. However, her stomach interrupted her with a growl. She blushed a bit and she said, "Sorry. I haven't eaten anything for a long time."

Gil smiled to her and he took off his backpack. "Here, I got some soup in my backpack. It's still good." He brought out a can of soup and gave it to the girl. Clementine's eyes widened upon seeing the soup. Gil offered the soup to her, and she accepted it.

"Thanks… okay. Let's get started." Clementine said. "My name's Clementine, but you can call me Clem."

"It's nice to meet you." Gil said.

Clementine gestured the boy to follow her. She looked around for any twigs or sticks to make a fire. However, she was coming up empty handed. There were very few sticks in the area. "Alright, I guess we'll have to eat this cold. I'm not finding anything to start a fire."

Gil shrugged and said, "Better cold than nothing."

"Definitely." Clementine said. She went over to a nearby log and sat down with Gil sitting next to her. Clementine got her knife out and cleaned it before she stabbed the aluminum can with it. Like yesterday, she cut the weak aluminum with her knife.

"I guess I should get a knife." Gil said.

"Absolutely." Clementine said. "A knife can save your life on more than one occasion. Do you have anything to protect yourself with?" She finished the cut and she pulled the lid off. She looked back up to Gil and saw him shake his head.

"Here." Clementine said as she offered the handle of her knife to the boy.

"Are you sure?" Gil asked. "What about you?"

"I got a hammer from last night. So, I'll be good." Clementine said.

Gil smiled to Clementine and accepted the knife. "Thanks Clem." Gil said.

"Well, you wanted to learn." Clementine said as she took a handful of the soup and ate it. She offered some to Gil but he shook his head.

"You need it. You look like you haven't eaten in a while." Gil said with a worried look on his face.

"Thanks Gil. I did have some beans yesterday and then I got attacked. So that was my last meal." Clementine said.

"What attacked you?" Gil asked.

"A dog." Clementine said.

"Whoa… really? I haven't seen a dog for a long time." Gil said.

"Yeah… I found some food in this camp where the dog was. I opened up the can and the dog went toward me and wanted me to give it some food. So, I did. It snapped the can out of my hand and I was stupid enough to grab it back. And that's when it bit me." Clementine explained.

"How are you feeling? I mean it probably hurts." Gil said.

"It does, but it's getting better. I had to disinfect it, stitch it up, and bandage it." Clementine said as she continued to eat the soup.

"Whoa, hold on… you stitched up your own wound?" Gil asked with shock in his eyes. Clementine nodded and Gil smiled. "That is so cool. I mean it does suck that you had to do that, but man… you're the toughest girl I've ever met." It was after the boy said this that he started to blush. Clementine smirked upon seeing how the boy admired her toughness. It felt weird. She almost felt like she was with Duck again, but this boy was more calm and kind to her than what Duck was.

"Thanks Gil. I think you're… really fun to hang out with." Clementine said with a smile. She felt… different. This has never happened before. She has talked to people in the past, but Gil was so different. He was care-free and relaxed which made her feel relaxed. He wasn't like other people. He didn't bog her down with hundreds of questions like where she was from and who was she with. Instead, his warm personality made her open up to him.

She continued to eat from the can of soup as she thought to herself. Gil will die just like everyone else that got too close to her. She knew it was going to happen. It already happened to so many people. She didn't want to get away from him, but it was better for him to be alive and without her than being dead. She would have to get away from him as soon as she taught him mostly everything she knew. That was the only way that he would have a chance to live.

"Hey, you alright?" Gil asked. "You look kind of conflicted."

"I… I'm fine." Clementine said. She finished off the can of soup and wiped her hand with her pants. "Okay, come on. There's a lot I need to teach you." She got off the log and chucked the empty can away.

"Lead the way." Gil said as he got off the log as well.

… **To be continued.**

 **A/N: I bet you weren't expecting Gil to make an appearance. Now, just because I don't usually do the relationship between Gil and Clementine, doesn't mean I hate it. I just think it's a little lacking in development as opposed to some of the other OCXClem relationships on FanFiction.**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own** _ **The Walking Dead**_ **. All rights reserved to their respective owners.**

Clementine and Gil stood back-to-back as the approaching walkers growled and snarled at the two. "Remember what I taught you." Clementine said to the boy.

"Right, aim for the legs first and then the head, and always keep an eye on your surroundings." Gil said. Clementine nodded in response. Gil was a fast learner just like her. The two separated from each other and went to deal with the walkers. She wasn't used to teaming up with anyone, so she had to learn to look up to see if Gil was still doing okay. This was the second time that they had to team up against the walkers. The first time was easier since there weren't as many walkers.

A couple of the walkers limped toward Clementine and she knocked one of them down with her hammer. She used the blunt side to break the walker's knee. The walker fell on all four and the other walker tried to grab at Clementine. However, the walker that was still standing fell over the other walker and it hit the ground with a groan. It was almost comical.

Clementine looked up for a couple seconds to see Gil slashing at one of the walker's legs with the knife that she gave him yesterday. Clementine looked down at the more mobile walker and slammed the hammer's spike into its skull. She struggled for a couple of seconds as the first walker and a third walker went toward her. She finally pulled it out and wacked the first walker in the head. It didn't kill the walker, but it was stunned from the hit. She looked up at the third walker and weaved away from its extended arms; however, she did fall from weaving away from the walker.

She kicked the back of the third walker's leg and it fell to ground with a growl. Clementine got back up and she looked over to see Gil pinned down by one of the walkers, while the other limped toward him.

Clementine huffed and she looked around to see if there was something she could use to kill the walkers with other than her hammer. However, she found something else… an opening to leave. She looked over to Gil and locked eyes with him. Could she really let him die so that she could save herself? What if she died? Then everyone's sacrifice was in vain. Kenny, Ben, Lee, Christa, Omid, Carley, Duck, Katjaa, and so many more died for nothing. But if she leaves, then Gil will be added to the list of people that died for her. She already had enough guilt on her mind.

"Clem!" Gil yelled out.

Clementine snapped out of her daze and she pulled out her handgun. She aimed and fired at the two walkers on top of Gil. The gunshots echoed throughout the forest and it made Clementine kick herself for using the weapon. The gun was used for emergencies and situations with people only, but everything happened so fast and she had to act quickly in order to save Gil's life. She had no choice.

Clementine ran over to Gil and helped him to get out from under the walkers. "Come on, we got to run." Clementine said as she helped him to his feet. She ran further into the woods while holding onto Gil's hand. She had to make sure that they stayed together since she had to get them away from the source of the gunshot. The walkers would be drawn to the gunshot like moths to a flame. As they ran, several walkers groaned and growled at them, but the limping undead creatures were unable to grab either children. Still, there were some close calls.

Finally, Clementine stopped and gasped for air. She fell on her knees and huffed as Gil panted with his hands on his knees. "I… I think… we're good." Gil said.

"I hope so." Clementine said with a huff. She stood upright and looked to the boy. "Okay… so that didn't go according to plan. What happened back there?"

"I tripped on my own feet to avoid getting munched on." Gil said. He looked to Clementine with a scowl and he said, "You were going to leave me. I saw you looking at an opening a couple times."

"Yeah, I thought about it." Clementine said.

Gil lost his scowl and he sighed. "Well, thanks for coming back for me. What changed your mind to help me anyway?" Gil said.

Clementine looked down with a frown and she said, "Because a lot of people have already died because of me. I'm already feeling a lot of guilt and I didn't want your death on my conscience."

Gil looked to Clementine with a frown and he said, "Hey… come on now… people die… because of the world we live in… they died for you… so you could live." His voice sounded comforting and supportive.

"If you want to believe in that lie, then go for it, but I'm going to believe in the truth." Clementine said. "As soon as I'm done teaching you, we'll go our separate ways so you won't die because of me."

Gil's eyes widened in horror. "What?" Gil exclaimed. "Clem, I'll die out here without you helping me."

Clementine shook her head and she said, "I've survived for almost two years on my own and I wasn't nearly as strong as you are at the moment. I know you'll make it, but you won't if you stay with me."

What are you talking about?" Gil asked.

A few seconds went by as the children looked into each other's eyes with pleading stares; however, both stares were very different. Clementine had a pleading stare for Gil to understand that he needed to stay away from her, while Gil had a pleading stare for her to not leave.

"I'm a death magnet, Gil. Everyone who stays with me dies. That's why you need to leave." Clementine said. "It took me a while to figure it out… but at least, I know that now"

Gil shook his head. "You really think that's true?" Gil asked.

"Of course, that's how I lost everyone!" Clementine exclaimed.

"Well, I don't. I think you're punishing yourself over what happened to a few people… people who were your friends and family." Gil said with a confident stare.

Clementine clenched her fist and she felt hot tears in her eyes. "That's… That's not true…"

"Yes, it is." Gil said. "You look like you're in misery… and you only add onto that when you meet good people and leave because you think that you cause people to die."

"But… it's the truth." Clementine sobbed a bit. She couldn't help herself. The boy's words cut through her like a knife… What if he was telling the truth? What if… after all this time… she was wrong about herself?

"It's not." Gil said with a sympathetic stare. He seemed to be backing down upon seeing that the girl was starting to get upset.

No. He was wrong. She would prove that he is wrong. "You're wrong!" Clementine exclaimed with a fiery flare in her eyes. "My guardian, Lee, died because a walker bit him while he was looking for me! If it wasn't for me, he would still be alive along with the rest of the group! I ruined everything by talking to some jerk on a radio who lied about knowing my parents and keeping them in some stupid motel! I killed my group!"

"Listen to yourself! Did any of that make any sense, especially when you were nine when that happened?" Gil exclaimed.

Clementine was surprised upon hearing the boy and she thought over the sentence. "There are awful people in this world, Clem. Someone took advantage of you and your group died because of that person." Gil said.

"But I-" Clementine said.

"NO! SHUT UP!" Gil shouted. "You're not going to blame yourself for all that anymore because the truth is that those people died to save you and protect you! And don't say that their lives would have been better without you because someone risked everything to save you in your time of need! They loved you, and they made their choice to save you." Gil said with tears in his eyes. "And without you, I would have died yesterday. So don't say your life is a waste and things would have been better because… I need you… and I think you need me."

Clementine's tear-filled eyes widened upon hearing the boy's exclamation. She thought of what he said and how she viewed things. Minutes passed by between the two while Clementine was lost in thought. She heard a walker approaching them and she turned to the decaying monster.

"I'm going to take care of that walker and then we need to think about going." Gil said in a calm tone of voice. Clementine nodded and the boy went up to the approaching walker. Just like she taught the boy, he slashed at the legs first and then he stabbed it in the head. However, Clementine looked down and continued to ponder.

"Hey come on. We need to keep going." Gil said.

Clementine looked up and nodded. She was too lost in thought to go around by herself at the moment. "I can take the lead for a while. You look a bit lost in thought." Gil said.

Clementine nodded and she said, "Yeah… thanks."

Gil gave her a smile but it turned into a frown. He led the way while Clementine continued to ponder. Everything was quiet between the two. It felt uncomfortable especially for Gil. He had no idea what Clementine was thinking.

 **Night**

Clementine looked out into the dark woods with a flashlight and hammer in her hands. However, she wasn't paying attention as much as she normally did. She recollected on her past and on how things went. Since she was born till she was eight and close to nine. Her parents remained alive and healthy... but after the walkers… that's when everything changed. She lost them and someone who was a father figure… and she always thought it was her fault. However, Gil told her otherwise. Who was right?

She kept looking over the facts and took Gil's input into account. His words ran through her head at a ridiculous speed. She couldn't even concentrate on her surroundings.

" _Listen to yourself! Did any of that make any sense…?"_

" _There are awful people in this world, Clem. Someone took advantage of you…"_

" _You're not going to blame yourself for all that anymore because the truth is that those people died to save you and protect you!_ _…They loved you… I need you… and I think you need me."_

Clementine's eyes shot open and she gasped upon feeling a hand on her shoulder. She jumped up and saw Gil standing next to where she was sitting a couple of seconds ago. "Sorry… didn't mean to frighten you." Gil said. Clementine could feel tears rolling down her cheeks and she huffed. Gil sighed and he said, "I'm sorry about what happened earlier today. I didn't want to sound mean when I said all that… I just don't… I don't know…"

"You were right." Clementine said as she tried to keep her composure. "I… I…" She lost all concentration and started to cry.

"Hey…" Gil said in a soothing voice. He approached the girl and hugged her as she cried on his shoulder. "Sh… it's okay." Gil said to comfort her.

"I… I blamed myself for what happened to them." Clementine sobbed. She huffed to calm herself down, but it wasn't working.

"I'm here Clem… We're here for each other." Gil said. "We'll look out for each other

Clementine continued to sob as she allowed her body to release all of the pain and sorrow that was built up over the years. The thing she had to become was the exact opposite of what she wanted to be. She didn't want to be an uncaring and lifeless person that stayed away from people so they wouldn't share her group's fate. She wanted to find another guardian and grow up alongside someone she loved and eventually get married. It was her new dream in this wretched world.

Eventually, she was able to calm down and Gil pulled her back by her shoulders. "You okay?" Gil asked with a smile.

Clementine nodded before she hugged the boy. "Thank you... you saved my life." Clementine said.

"And you saved mine." Gil said as he hugged the girl.

They remained that way for a few seconds until Clementine pulled away. Her irritated red eyes looked into Gil's and saw the warm and inviting stare that Clementine hadn't seen for such a long time. The boy's eyes were just like Lee's.

"You should get some sleep. I can take watch." Gil said.

Clementine smiled and she nodded. She went over to the burnt out fire while she smiled. She felt like a heavy weight had been lifted off of her. She had a sense of happiness that she hadn't felt for a long time. She felt so free, and at the same time, she was tired. However, she felt different, and that was what mattered.

 **Two Days Later**

Clementine and Gil continued to walk down the trail to an opening. It was morning as they continued their trek. Clementine wanted to find somewhere to spend the winter before she and the boy tried to continue up toward Wellington. For the past couple of days, Clementine had been improving and had regained the loving and kind nature that she thought she lost.

Gil smiled to Clementine and he asked, "How are you doing?"

"Really good." Clementine said with a smile.

"It's nice to see you smile. It's really pretty." Gil said.

"Thanks. I like yours too." Clementine said.

Gil smiled to the girl before he looked back to the road along with Clementine. It seemed that the clearing dropped off so they must have been nearing the edge of a cliff. "So where did you start off from?" Gil asked. "I mean, you said that you were wanting to go to Wellington which is up near Michigan, so that means you must have started off somewhere down south, right?"

"I started from Savannah… in a sense. I was in Macon for a little while." Clementine said

"All the way down in Georgia?" Gil asked with shocked eyes. Clementine nodded and the boy whistled. "That's a long walk. I bet you aren't used to the weather up here."

"Yeah to an extent." Clementine said. "I was with this group for a while that was further north of Georgia. They were almost near Tennessee. The leader was Roman."

"Did you and he get along okay?" Gil asked. "Something must have happened to make you leave."

Clementine nodded and she said, "There were a couple of people in his group that didn't like me, but that didn't make me leave. I left because I thought they were going to die if I stayed."

"Oh… okay. You really ought to stop doing that." Gil said.

"Trust me. I'm not doing it any time soon." Clementine said.

Good." Gil said. The two children looked ahead and saw a rather huge mountain range that expanded across the horizon. There were a couple of buildings in the distance along with a strange structure that was built onto the mountain side. "Whoa… a ski lodge. It looks really big too. We ought to see if we can get that place. It's perfect for cold weather."

"A ski lodge?" Clementine asked with a questioning stare.

"Yeah, have you ever gone skiing before?" Gil asked.

"I've heard about it." Clementine said with a frown. She always wanted to go skiing with her parents when she was younger, but they kept telling her that she would really hate the snow and cold. Who would have thought that they were right? The cold in Georgia was a mild fall day in the upper states like Tennessee and Virginia.

"Oh well, okay… anyway the ski lodge is there if you want to relax and get away from the cold." Gil said.

Clementine smiled and she said, "I see now why you thought it would be a good place to stay during the winter." Clementine looked up to a large rock and she said, "I'm going to climb up there and see what the way is like to get to the ski lodge."

"Sounds good." Gil said.

Clementine turned to the rock and took her backpack off in search of her binoculars. She pulled them out after rummaging through her backpack for a couple seconds. She jumped up and grabbed onto the edge of the rock and she started to climb up it.

… **To be continued.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I do not own** _ **The Walking Dead**_ **. All rights reserved to their respective owners.**

Clementine reached the top of the boulder and she looked through the binoculars. She could see a bridge and a small house next to each other. She looked around for another way to get to the ski lodge without using the bridge, but there was none. "Okay… looks like the only way to get across is through the bridge. There's also a small house next to it."

"Okay, we'll just have to be careful. We have no idea if that area is an ambush spot for bandits." Gil said. Clementine climbed down from the rock while breathing out a huff. "Been a long couple of days. I'll be glad when we get to that ski lodge. We can finally take a break."

The two children walked down the road while Clementine thought to herself. "A break…" Clementine said. "That's something I haven't thought of for a long time."

Gil sent the girl a worried stare. "When was the last time that you did relax?" Gil asked.

Clementine shrugged. "I think it might have been when Lee was still alive. I wouldn't really count my time with Roman and his group since I would sneak out with this one girl to keep my strength up." Clementine said.

"Becca?" Gil asked.

"Yeah… she was pretty strong for her age. I always wonder what happened to her after I left. I know that she probably resented me… still does if she's alive." Clementine said.

"Yeah… maybe so." Gil said. "I have to admit that you're probably the first kid I've met since the dead came. Not sure what happened to all of my friends back at home."

"Hopefully, they're okay. If they're anything like you, they may still be alive… as long as they have someone teaching them on how to survive." Clementine said.

"Yeah… speaking of which… I never really did thank you for helping me." Gil said with a smile.

"You helped me too. You got me out of a really dark place." Clementine said while returning the smile.

The two continued to walk down the dirt road which more than likely led to the bridge. The atmosphere around the two was comfortable. Neither were very tense. Clementine made sure to stay alert in the case that walkers or even worse people would attack them, but there was no movement. However, as the two neared the bridge, Clementine did catch a glimpse of two walkers at the bridge's entrance.

Clementine pulled out her hammer and she asked, "Do you see them?" She continued toward the walkers with Gil by her side. They were going at a slower pace and their bodies had become very tense.

"Yeah." Gil said. "How do you want to do this?"

Clementine looked around and saw that the two walkers appeared to be the only obstacle for the two. "There's only two of them. "Let's take them out but keep an eye out for any more."

"Got it." Gil said. "I can take the big one. I need the practice."

Clementine nodded and the two walked toward the two walkers. In one quick motion, Clementine swung the hammer's spike into the walker's skull. She looked over to Gil and saw him kick the other walker down. The walker growled upon hitting the ground before Gil stabbed it with his knife.

"Good job." Clementine said with a smile.

"Well, I had a good teacher." Gil said as he returned the smile.

Clementine looked back to the walker that she killed and tried to remove the hammer. "This thing is always getting stuck." Clementine muttered. She pulled the hammer away but it remained stuck in the walker's skull. After a few seconds of struggling to free her hammer, she pulled it out along with half of the walker's skull and brain matter. "Ew…" Clementine muttered as she looked down at her clothing which was covered in brain matter.

"You okay?" Gil asked.

"Yeah… it's just… these things seem to always surprise me by how disgusting they are." Clementine said.

"They're dead, Clem… Of course they're going to be disgusting." Gil said.

"Yeah, you got a point there." Clementine said. She looked up to the rest of the bridge and she said, "Ready to keep going."

"Always." Gil said. The two children walked across the bridge while they looked around for any more walkers. It didn't take long for them to spot some. There were four inactive walkers that rose up and started to limp toward them while another crawled since it was missing a leg. "Not good."

"It's okay… just be careful." Clementine said. She perked up when she heard growling and snarling from behind her. Clementine looked back and she muttered, "Oh crap…" Three more walkers were limping toward the children. They were trapped.

"Clem…" Gil said.

The girl went into action immediately. She went toward the five walkers that were approach her and Gil. She slammed her hammer into one of the walker's legs and kicked another walker in the knee. She could hear the knee break for both walkers. She jumped back from one of the walkers that was still able to stand. The creature had tried to bite her, but the girl was vigilant and agile enough to avoid the undead creature's chomp.

Clementine lost her balance and fell backwards onto her back as the crawler approached her. Clementine crawled away from the creature and rolled underneath an abandoned train cart. She reached the other side and stood upright. She huffed as she looked over to Gil to see one of the three walkers that he was fighting was on the ground dead, but he was still fighting the other two. Her vision of the boy was blocked when a walker got in front of her and tried to grab her. Clementine weaved from the walker and kicked it in the back of its knee. She didn't kick it hard enough to break the bone, but she did throw the walker off balance.

Clementine was frightened when she heard Gil yell out. She looked over to see a walker on top of him though that walker was dead; it had his knife in its skull. However, the last walker that the boy had to fight was on top of the walker that was on top of him. Clementine's eyes widened and she adjusted the grip on her hammer. She was holding onto the metal part. She took a few seconds to adjust her aim and she threw the hammer at the walker. It was a direct hit. A pure chance of luck that she was able to hit the creature and kill it with the hammer's spike, but now, she was unarmed and fighting against three crawlers and two limping walkers.

Clementine looked for another weapon that she could use and her eyes widened. She noticed a hatchet of some kind on the ground. However, it had a longer handle than any regular hatchet and it had a sharp spike extending in the opposite direction of the blade. She grabbed the weapon and slashed at one of the limping walkers. The weapon's blade was still rather sharp, and it cut through the walker's skull with a clean slash. She looked up at the remaining walkers and planted the hatchet into another walker's skull. She pulled the hatchet out without much struggling and she ran toward an opening that got her closer to the shack on the other side of the bridge. There were only three walkers left.

She gathered up her remaining strength and courage and ran toward them. She slashed at the limping walker's leg and forced it to the ground while kicking one of the crawler's arms in. Once again, she could hear the bone crack as she kicked in the walker's elbow. She turned to the other crawler and used the spike of the hatchet to kill it. She pulled the hatchet back out and slashed the back of the second walker's skull. The last walker approached her, but Clementine weaved away and stabbed the back of its leg with the spike. She pulled it out as the walker fell on all fours. Clementine approached it and she brought the hatchet up. The walker growled at her and tried to extend its arm toward her, but she was faster. She brought the hatchet down and beheaded the walker.

Clementine huffed from the intense fight while she heard footsteps coming toward her. "You okay?" Gil asked as he placed a soothing hand on her back. Clementine nodded and she stood upright.

"Yeah… I think…" The girl huffed.

"Sorry about that back there. I couldn't really do much." Gil said.

"Don't worry about it. Everything worked out." Clementine said. She looked to the hatchet in her hand and she said, "This thing really helped."

"That's a tomahawk." Gil said with wide eyes.

"A tomahawk? Wait, the same thing that some Native American tribes used?" Clementine asked.

"Yeah…" Gil said. "My uncle was in the army and he was given a tomahawk as a melee weapon along with a military-issued knife."

"Wow… I didn't think they continued making tomahawks." Clementine said.

"Well, they did… it just… they're more modern looking now… as you can tell." Gil said. Clementine nodded and she looked to the tomahawk. "You better hold onto that. A tomahawk could come in handy."

Clementine nodded, but she tensed up when she heard someone whistling a couple feet next to her. She turned around to see a man with a grey and black hooded sweatshirt, a pair of blue jeans, and a pair of black shoes. He was armed with a hunting rifle, but he was holding it rather than aiming it. "Holy shit…" The man muttered. "I've never seen so many dead walkers before." He looked up to Clementine and Gil with a friendly smile and he said, "So, I'm guessing you two are the king and queen of walker slaying or something like that."

"Who are you?" Clementine asked with a glare.

"Easy kid… I'm not a bad guy. I noticed you guys from the shack and ran over to see who it was." The man explained with a calm voice. "I'm Matthew."

"I'm Gil." Gil said. He looked to Clementine who was a bit on edge by the man's presence. "It's alright… I think we can trust this guy."

"I don't want to take any chances." Clementine said. She sighed before she lowered her arm with the tomahawk. "…but I guess you can't be all that bad since you have a sense of humor."

"Exactly." The man said with a smile. "Of course, I've got nothing on a friend of mine up at the ski lodge. He's pretty hilarious."

"You have a group at the ski lodge?" Gil asked with a frown. Matthew nodded which made Gil sigh. "We were hoping to find somewhere to stay until winter had passed. We thought that ski lodge would be a good place to stay."

"Hey, I don't think my group will have any problems of letting you stay. I mean… you're just a couple of kids. You can stay at the ski lodge for as long as you want." Matthew said.

Clementine smiled at the man. He sounded sincere. His words weren't rushed, so he didn't have an alternative motive for them to go to the ski lodge. It was somewhat refreshing to talk to someone who didn't mean them harm. "Thank you. My name's Clementine." Clementine said.

Matthew's eyes widened and he said, "Wait a minute… Clementine?" He looked at her more closely; however, he kept his stare at the girl's head. He was looking at her hat. "A young girl wearing a blue and white hat with the letter, 'D' on it." Matthew remarked.

"Huh?" Gil asked. Clementine was also confused. It's like the man knew who she was in a way especially on how he reacted when she told him her name.

"Clementine… you… there are people up at the ski lodge that know you." Matthew said. Clementine's eyes widened and she jumped. "They… They thought you were dead this whole time…"

"Wait… who is it?" Clementine asked with a surprised but happy tone in her voice.

Matthew smiled and he said, "Christa and Omid."

Clementine's jaw dropped. She was sure that they had perished in Savannah along with Ben, Kenny, and Lee. She felt tears forming in her eyes. Her long lost friends were still alive. She had to go meet them. "I… I gotta go… I gotta get to them." Clementine said. She looked up to Matthew and said, "Thank you." She raced past him and left Gil completely behind.

"Wait Clem!" Gil exclaimed as he raced after her.

"Whoa, wait… hold on. I got some food in the shack…" Matthew said to the children but they weren't listening.

Clementine was going as fast as she could toward the mountain, while Gil trailed behind. However, it wasn't long until Clementine started to huff again. She was grabbed by the arm and forced to stop. She looked back to see Gil huffing and holding onto her by her arm. She looked to the boy with a questioning stare while they both tried to catch their breaths.

"Look… I know you're excited to see your friends again, but… let's just slow down… We literally have to climb a mountain to get to them." Gil said in between his huffs.

Clementine looked up the mountain and she noticed that she still had a long ways to go. She knew that her body was running on fumes. "Okay… I guess you're right." Clementine said. She looked back to Gil and saw him giving her a smile. His smile was infectious since it made her smile too. They trudged up the mountain for a while in silence. Clementine wanted to get up the mountain as fast as possible. It had been so long since she had seen Omid and Christa.

"So, who is this Omid and Christa? I know that they were a part of your old group, but that's all I really know." Gil said.

"Christa and Omid… they met us on a really bad day. That day, a boy who was a year older than me, died from getting bit by a walker. His mom, Katjaa, committed suicide." Clementine said with a frown. "However, they were welcomed additions to the group. Christa was pregnant when she joined us. I think she was in her fourth or fifth month. Then Omid… he was such a jokester. He swore a bit, but he was always funny to listen to." She smiled a bit as she thought of her long lost friends.

"They sound like good people. I can't wait to see them." Gil said.

"Yeah… I feel the same way." Clementine said.

* * *

It was in the afternoon when Clementine and Gil finally reached the ski lodge. Clementine wanted to run inside to greet her long lost friends, but her body was exhausted. The last several days of pushing herself to keep herself and Gil safe had left her running on fumes. "You okay?" Gil asked. "You look terrible… no offense… it's just that you don't look good."

"Yeah… I know." Clementine said. "I'm really beat."

They got onto the wooden deck and started to walk toward the entrance of the ski lodge. It was such a weird feeling for Clementine. She felt excited like a kid on Christmas day who was ready to unwrap all of her gifts, but at the same time, she was exhausted. She turned the corner to see a man in a red and grey sweatshirt sitting in a chair. He was armed, but he was also reading a book.

The man looked up to her as Gil walked next to her. "Ah… hello there." The man said as he stood up from the chair. "Lovely weather we're having. I couldn't help but come out here and enjoy it along with one of my favorite books." He frowned upon seeing how banged up Clementine was and how she was covered in dark red specks of blood. "Are you okay, little girl? You don't look too good."

Clementine nodded and she said, "Matthew sent us… Please, I need to see Christa and Omid. They're here, aren't they?"

The man smiled and he nodded his head. "Follow me." The man entered the ski lodge with Clementine stumbling in after him. Gil followed with a concerned look aimed at Clementine. She had used up so much of her strength, and it made him concern for her health.

Clementine could hear Christa's caring voice as she walked up the stairs from the front lobby along with baby sounds. "Yeah, that's it." Christa said.

Clementine reached the top of the stairs to see Christa and Omid watching a toddler. Both adults were on the ground and had their backs toward Clementine, Gil, and the man that they met outside. It appeared that the toddler was a girl, and it appeared that she had many characteristics that were shared by Christa and Omid. That had to be their baby.

"Christa, Omid." The man said. Both adults turned to the man; however, their eyes widened and their mouths dropped upon seeing Clementine. Everything was still and silent as the two adults looked to the child. The only thing that could be heard was the baby's babbling.

… **To be continued.**

 **A/N: Yeah… don't see this option much… I thought it would be good to have this happen. Also… gotta love the cliffhangers… man, this is too much fun.**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Well gaara, you might not be happy with what I do in this chapter… hahaha. Oh well. I'll explain my actions in the author note at the end. I just feel like this might be the best course of action.**

 **As for the rest of you, keep in mind that gaara and I are aiming for a realistic setting to a certain extent. There is going to be some talk/discussion in this chapter that is about growing up or maturing… if you catch my meaning. Don't be going… "Oh you're a pervert and a pedophile!" and whatever else you want to throw out there because I will delete you review… The point that these conversations are making is that Clementine is growing up.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own** _ **The Walking Dead**_ **. All rights reserved to their respective owners.**

Clementine dropped the newly acquired tomahawk and she went toward the two adults, but she stumbled as she did so. She finally fell onto her knees and huffed out of exhaustion. She had no idea how worn out her own body was. She was so close to her long lost friends; she had to push herself just a little more. However, nothing happened.

She heard footsteps approaching her and she looked up in time for Christa to hug her. The woman even picked her up. Clementine was light for her age even if she had become a bit stronger than normal girls her age, but she was still eleven. Picking her up and holding her wouldn't be something that a weaker individual could do. Clementine knew that Christa was strong, but she never thought that she was this strong. The woman cried as she held the eleven year old; however, she wasn't the only one. Clementine cried a bit as well.

"Are you okay?" Christa asked in a whimpering voice.

"…I… I think so." Clementine replied. She couldn't help but sniffle a little bit.

Christa continued to hold onto Clementine as the girl started to relax. It was the first time she had ever relaxed in such a long time.

Finally, after a few minutes of crying in each other's grip, Christa adjusted her hold on the child and had one arm under the girl's back while the other was under her knees. "You're alive…" Christa said with a smile forming on her lips.

Omid approached the two and crouched down as well. He had tears in his eyes, but he also had a smile on his lips. "All this time… we thought…" Omid said with a sob in his voice.

"I did too." Clementine said. The man and child hugged one another while Christa kept the girl on her lap. Clementine noticed that Omid was very strong. He certainly was stronger than what his height would lead people to believe. The two separated when crying was heard from the infant. "It's really good to see you again." Omid said. He looked up to his crying daughter and said, "It's okay, Gen. I'm coming." Omid said to the infant. He stood up and went toward the girl.

Clementine looked to Christa and asked, "Your baby's name is Gen?"

Christa smiled and she nodded her head. "Her full name is Genevieve. You two will have time to get better acquainted. Right now, I need to get you back to full health. I can tell that you're suffering from exhaustion." Christa said.

Clementine smiled and nodded her head before Christa picked her up. Clementine felt almost as if she was at peace in the woman's arms. She wanted to be in Christa's embrace after Lee died since Christa and Omid were all she had left, but instead, she was found by evil people… with one wanting to rape her. She shuttered a bit from the memory, but she was brought out of her thoughts by Christa. "I'm so sorry… you went through this world without my or Omid's help. We looked everywhere for you. We even went back into that damned f****** city, but we couldn't find you." Christa explained as she walked up the stairs.

"It's okay." Clementine said. "It's my fault anyway… I nearly got you, Omid, and Gen killed. Ben, Kenny and Lee did die because of what I did."

"Hush now. I don't want to hear you talking like that." Christa said in a stern and motherly voice. She placed Clementine on a rather comfortable bed and she continued, "We all made the decision to come and save you… just like if one of us was taken, you would have done everything in your power to find and save us."

Clementine never thought of it that way, and it was true. She was about to force her exhausted body up an entire mountain to see Christa and Omid. She looked up to see Christa removing the girl's worn out shoes and socks before she walked back up to Clementine. "We'll get some food in you later. Right now, rest. I'll come and check on you every so often."

Clementine smiled to Christa as the woman pulled the winter blanket over the girl. Clementine allowed her eyes to close as she felt a smile form on her lips. Her life was improving. Two people that she thought she killed were alive, and in turn, they had their baby.

* * *

Clementine shot up and huffed upon finally waking up from the nightmare she was in. She would have nightmares of the people she lost every now and then, and she still wasn't used to it. She felt a hand on her shoulder and she gasped. She turned her head to the person next to her. "Easy… it's okay." The woman said in a friendly tone of voice. "I noticed that you were mumbling and squirming in your sleep, so I came to check on you. Is everything alright?"

"I… where's Christa and Omid? Are they still okay?" Clementine asked.

"Yes, of course." The woman replied. "Do you want me to go get them? I know Christa told me to make sure you get something to eat."

"I… umm… I just wanted to make sure that they were okay." Clementine said.

"If anything, they've been more worried about you." The woman said. "My name's Sarita. I found Omid and Christa about a day before Genevieve was born."

"I'm Clementine." Clementine said to Sarita.

"It is nice to finally meet you. Christa and Omid would talk about you sometimes, but I could tell that it hurt them to think about you." Sarita said.

Clementine looked down with a frown. "So how are you feeling?" Sarita asked as she checked the girl's temperature.

"I've been better… to be honest." Clementine said.

"Come on. You think you can head downstairs with me?" Sarita asked. "Christa said that you need to eat something."

"Yeah, I should be okay." Clementine said. She turned herself around on the bed and stood upright. She stumbled a bit at first while Sarita had her arms out to catch her. "I'm good." Clementine said as she steadied herself. Sarita nodded and she headed toward the stairs while she looked back every couple of seconds to see how Clementine was holding up. Clementine followed the woman down the stairs and she looked over to Omid holding Genevieve and giving her a bottle. It wasn't very late in the day, so it must have been afternoon which meant that Genevieve was being put down for her afternoon nap. She didn't see Gil, Christa, or the older man that she met a few hours ago. "Where is everyone?" Clementine asked.

"Christa's getting some clothes together for you; you slept for a while. You were out for almost a whole day." Sarita said which made Clementine's eyes widened in surprise. She never thought that she was out for such a long period of time. "With electricity here, we've actually managed to get running water back up so you can take a bath or a shower. Gil is with Walter at the moment. They're having an in-depth conversation about Steinbeck." Sarita explained.

"Okay." Clementine said. They approached a table and Sarita gave the girl a bowl. The food inside had a sweet aroma, but it didn't look too good. "What is this?" Clementine asked.

"Peaches and beans. Walter made it about thirty minutes ago." Sarita explained. Clementine nodded and she began to eat the food. It tasted as good as it smelled. She noticed that Sarita stayed close to Clementine. "Christa and Omid did talk about you a little bit, but I am curious and I'm sure they are as well. So, what happened?"

Clementine ate another spoonful of the food and thought over the events of what happened since Savannah. She swallowed before she said, "After Savannah… I thought I saw Christa and Omid on a hill… but it was actually bad people." Clementine noticed that Sarita's eyes had become wide and a frown was on her lips. "One killed the other and chased me, but I was able to use a walker to kill him."

"Oh… I'm sorry you went through that, honey… No one should have to go through that at such a young age." Sarita said with sympathetic eyes.

Clementine shrugged and said, "It doesn't matter anymore. You just do what you have to so you can live. I met more people after that… most wanted to kill me, steal from me, or… they wanted to do something else."

"My gosh… I… you never got…?" Sarita asked. Clementine shook her head which made Sarita sigh in relief. "Thank goodness…. I thought the worst…"

"There was this one group who had a lot of nice people in it. Some didn't like me, but this man named Boyd looked after me… and I befriended this really tough girl named Becca. I almost felt at peace when I was with that group." Clementine explained.

"What happened to them?" Sarita asked.

"I had to leave them. If I stayed they would have died just like how Kenny, Ben, and Lee died. It was all my fault… for what happened to them…" Clementine said.

"Oh honey… you shouldn't blame yourself for what happened." Sarita said as she placed a comforting hand on the girl's shoulder. "Christa and Omid told me what happened in Savannah after you were abducted. Lee didn't care what happened to him but he wanted to make sure to get you and bring you to safety… as his last act. He even tried to make Christa and Omid your new guardians…so you would be somewhat happy." She stopped when she saw that the girl had tears form in her eyes.

"I won't… I can't ever be happy again… not when someone like Lee died…" Clementine said with a huff. "Why was he willing to go so far for someone like me?"

"Because he loved you, sweetie. You were his world." Sarita said with a comforting tone in her voice. The two were silent for a couple minutes. Clementine looked to the bowl of food and remembered everything that her guardian did for her. Despite Gil's efforts, there was no way that she could forget about what happened to Lee. "You better finish eating. I need to check to make sure we don't have any walkers coming. Christa will probably be down in a few minutes.

Clementine nodded and she returned to eating the food in front of her. True to Sarita's word, Christa came down the stairs a few minutes later. She had some clothes in her hands along with a towel and washcloth. "Hey, I found some clothes for you… I don't know if Sarita told you this but we have running water, so you can take a bath or shower…" Christa said to Clementine. The girl nodded her head and Christa continued, "By the way, I need to talk to you about something. You might be a little embarrassed and it's not exactly going to be a cakewalk for me either."

"What are you talking about?" Clementine asked.

Christa smiled and she pulled out a cloth-like garment that Clementine had never seen, but it resembled another piece of clothing that she had seen before. "Do you know what this is?" Christa asked.

"Uh… no." Clementine said.

Christa chuckled a bit and she said, "This is a training bra. You need to start learning on how to put this on. You're a growing girl after all…"

Clementine could feel herself blush out of embarrassment. "Do I have to?" Clementine asked.

"Sorry, sweetie. It's just a part of growing up." Christa said as she placed the garment back into the set of clothes that she got for the child. "Try to get it on after you're done bathing along with your other clothes. If you can't, then just come to me and let me help you."

Clementine nodded before she receive the clothes from Christa. The woman gestured the child to follow her and they went further into the ski lodge. It didn't take long for Christa to direct Clementine to the shower room. There was a metal basin tub in the room, but it was mostly shower heads. "Sorry, that's all we really have. You can use the shower if you know how to use it." Christa said.

"Doesn't seem that difficult." Clementine said.

Christa smiled and she said, "Okay." She left the room and gave the girl some privacy. Clementine sighed before she placed the clothing far away from the shower. It would be the first time she has ever used a shower.

* * *

Clementine exited the shower room feeling quite refreshed. The shower wasn't too difficult; however, the training bra proved to be a bit more challenging to work with. She was still able to get it on right, but she wasn't used to it yet. However, she did feel confident that she would eventually learn to be able to put it on with ease with the passage of time.

She looked down to her clothing and she was somewhat pleased by the selection that Christa made. It brought back good memories, and she felt somewhat comfortable in the new clothes. She wore a light blue hooded sweatshirt with a white shirt underneath, a plaid purple skirt, black tights, and black boots.

"Hey you look a lot better." Christa said as she approached the girl.

"I… I feel better." Clementine said. "I haven't felt this comfortable in a long time."

"I know how you feel." Christa said. "When Walter and Matthew told us that they had running water here. The first thing I thought about was a shower, but of course, Omid beat me too it. He probably spent two hours in there."

"Man…" Clementine said with a giggle.

"He wasn't that day… he was the woman." Christa said with a chuckle. The woman and child laughed as they walked down the hallway. The laughing soon subsided and a serious look formed on Christa's face. "Anyway, there are a couple things we still need to discuss. First, we're you able to put the training bra on?"

"Yeah, it's on." Clementine said. "It was a little tricky, but it snapped in place."

"Good… good job." Christa said. "It's important you learn this now… so when you mature… you're able to use a real bra. Anyway, Sarita talked to me about what you said to her." She turned to the child with a sympathetic stare and she said, "Honey… I know it's hard to understand, but… Lee didn't die because of you."

Clementine shook her head and she said, "It's all that I can think about. Gil tried to help me before I came here, but I'm still plagued by what happened. What if things could have been different?"

"I know. Every damn night… I'm plagued with the question of what I could have done for him… what could I have done to find you sooner. You weren't supposed to be out there for so long… For the longest time, I thought I failed my friend… I failed to keep my promise to him." Christa said. "But you're here now… and that's what's important."

Clementine took her words into account as the woman took her hand. "Come on. We're going to need to have a private conversation."

"What for?" Clementine asked.

"Well, honey. Have you ever heard about the talk? Do you know anything about the birds and the bees?" Christa asked.

"Yeah, my mom and dad mentioned it, but they didn't say much. They just said that they would talk to me about it when I got older." Clementine said.

"Well… it's time you know what it is. You need to know the differences between a boy and a girl." Christa said as she led the girl into the main living area and continued toward the stairs. Clementine's eyes widened. She had been through cannibalistic undead creatures, bandits, scavenger, psychopaths, and murderers, but she had a feeling the so called 'talk' might be more traumatizing than anything she has ever faced.

… **To be continued.**

 **A/N: No worries… I ain't going to put you guys through the birds and the bees talk… besides you should all know what that is by now… right? …I hope…**

 **Anyway… well, here's the explanation behind Clem wearing what she's wearing. It kind of symbolizes her transformation back to being a normal kid again. Deep down, she has changed quite a bit, besides I'd imagine that's what Christa would get her to wear since Clem was a bit of a girly-girl… for a little while. So it physically shows her changing into someone different from the survivor that she was and the eight year old who is long gone.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I do not own** _ **The Walking Dead**_ **. All rights reserved to their respective owners.**

Clementine's eyes and mouth were wide open in surprise and shock. "…And that's everything you need to know in a nutshell." Christa said to the shocked and surprised girl.

Clementine shook her head and closed her mouth. "I see… well… I guess it makes sense." Clementine said.

"Don't worry, hon. It's a lot to take in, but it is better to know this stuff now than for you to find out later... or soon in your case. You're not too far off from that age when your body goes through changes." Christa said.

"I… okay…" Clementine said. She sighed and she said, "Why couldn't I just stay little then I wouldn't have to worry about all of this."

"I know how you feel hon." Christa said with a chuckle. "Don't worry. Things will get normal after a while."

"So what about Gil? Do boys change too?" Clementine asked.

"Well yes but in a different way. I'll have Omid talk to him since I'm sure he'll be uncomfortable if a woman tells him about how his body will change." Christa said. "As for now, I'd imagine Matthew will be coming back any minute from being down at the bridge." Christa headed for the stairs with Clementine following close behind.

Clementine smiled upon hearing laughter and giggling from Genevieve. She and Omid were downstairs. "She seems a lot happier than what I remember from yesterday." Clementine said.

"Yeah… she's a smart one." Christa said and she headed down the stairs. "She picks up on my and Omid's emotions rather easily. That's partly why she got upset yesterday. She thought we were upset, and she's always been like that."

They reached the bottom of the stairs and saw Omid turn his gaze to them. "Hey, you look a lot better, Clem." Omid said.

"Thanks." Clementine said. "I feel a lot better."

"That's good because we need to have a serious sit down and talk about your height. Why are you trying to make me feel short?" Omid said with a serious frown on his face, but it was evident that he was joking.

Clementine giggled and she said, "I don't know. I still feel kind of short."

"She's a growing girl, Omid." Christa said with a laugh.

"Great… I'm going to be shortest person here… Clem, why couldn't you have stayed short? I felt like I was a bit taller when you were eight." Omid said.

"Well, you still beat out Gen…" Christa said. "She probably will be closer to your height than mine."

"Yeah… great. I can take comfort in knowing that I'm only taller than my own daughter. Wonderful." Omid said with a sarcastic tone in his voice. "Still, I wish we would have named her Christa."

"Here, we go…" Christa said with a smirk.

"Think about it Christa, she would have been known as Christa Junior or Christa the Second. Doesn't that sound awesome?" Omid said with a smirk.

Clementine couldn't help but giggle while the baby looked back and forth between the mother and father. "I think Genevieve is the perfect name for our little angel." Christa said as she looked to Genevieve.

"Dada willy." The baby sputtered out.

"Whoa… I didn't think she was able to talk already." Clementine said with a shocked and impressed stare aimed at the toddler.

Christa smiled and she looked to Genevieve. "That's right, baby. Dada is being silly." The baby giggled before she went back to playing with her toys. Christa turned to Clementine and she said, "She's about that age. She'll be eighteen months soon so it makes since that she's starting to talk now."

"That's amazing." Clementine said with a smile.

"Yeah, it really is." Omid said. "I just wish she was nearing the stage for potty training."

Clementine giggled a bit while Christa rolled her eyes. "Omid." Christa said with a chuckle.

"I'm not kidding you. I had to change her a half hour ago and what I found… was frightening. I thought it was going to eat me." Omid said which made Clementine laugh harder. She couldn't help it. Omid always managed to make even the most gruesome, and in this case, disgusting things hilarious.

"You're something else… you know that?" Christa said with a smirk. Christa turned to Clementine and said, "You should have seen him when Genevieve was only a few months old. He kept dry heaving every time I changed her or when she threw up."

"I can see that happening." Clementine said with a smirk. The three turned their heads upon hearing the door open. Clementine looked over to see Walter and Gil. However, Gil was wearing a new green hooded sweatshirt along with the clothes that he had been wearing for the past few days that he has been with Clementine.

"Well, I better get dinner ready. It certainly was a superb conversation with you, Gil. I hope I can teach you more of Steinbeck." Walter said.

"Uh… sure… can I ask for the rest of the day off? That made my brain hurt." Gil said.

Walter chuckled and he said, "Certainly. We'll continue some time tomorrow." Walter turned and he headed over to a cooktop burner.

Gil looked over to Clementine and he smiled before he walked over. "You look a lot better. How do you feel?"

"Really good." Clementine said with a smile on her lips. However, she could feel herself getting warmer. She must have been blushing. All she could think about was what Christa told her about boys and girls and their many differences.

"You okay?" Gil asked with a questioning stare.

"It's nothing." Clementine said as she shook her head. She looked to the boy and she said, "So, I'm guessing you've talked to Omid and Christa."

"I have…" Gil said. "They're good people. Anyway… there's something I need to tell you."

"Umm… okay." Clementine said. She noticed that Christa and Omid were keeping an eye on her and Gil but they were focusing mostly on Genevieve.

"I just wanted to say that I'm sorry for what happened. It's my fault that you became exhausted the other day." Gil said with a frown on his face. "I need to become stronger so that doesn't happen to you again."

Clementine frowned as well and she said, "Gil, that wasn't your fault. That was a very intense situation… we barely made it out of there."

"Still, I feel kind of responsible for what happened to you." Gil said.

"We're alive. That's all that matters." Clementine said to the boy.

Gil smiled to the girl and he said, "Thanks Clem."

Both tweens turned when they heard Genevieve laughing. It was such a delight to hear the infant giggle. The laugh had a bit of innocence in it. Something that the tweens had lost. They weren't babies anymore. They weren't even kids. They were survivors.

"It's nice to hear laughing again." Clementine said.

"Yeah…" Christa said with a frown forming on her lips. "I'm so glad that I had a baby… it's so easy to get depressed in this world."

"It is…" Omid said with a frown. He sighed before he continued, "All of that Civil War history is gathering dust and I can't anything to save it."

"Omid…" Christa said.

"What? It's true. It's not like I can drive around in a car and bring it all here." Omid said.

"Because you care too much about Christa and your baby to put them through that, right?" Clementine said with a smirk.

"…Um, yeah, we'll go with that. You're absolutely right, Clementine." Omid said with a teasing smirk. The two tweens laughed while Christa shook her head.

"Nice save." Christa said with a sarcastic tone in her voice.

"Nice enough to stay inside for the night?" Omid asked.

"Nope, but I will let you take a blanket out there." Christa said.

Omid shrugged and he said, "That's a win."

The two adults and children turned their heads when they heard the door open. "Brr… that's a cold wind out there." Sarita's voice was heard.

"Yeah, my face feels like it's been pelted by glass for a couple of hours." Matthew's voice chimed in. They could hear footsteps heading up the stairs and it was followed by Matthew and Sarita coming into view. "Hey guys." Matthew said as he and Sarita approached the five group members.

"Hey, meet anyone today?" Christa asked.

Matthew shook his head and he said, "No, pretty boring day." He turned and sent a smile toward Clementine. "Hey, the walker slaying queen is awake this time."

Clementine giggled and she said, "Yeah, sorry that I left so abruptly the other day. When I heard that Christa and Omid were alive, I just had to get up here as soon as possible."

"The walker slaying queen?" Sarita asked.

"Yeah, you should have seen her and Gil in action. They took out eight walkers together." Matthew said. "I tried to run over and help them, but by the time I got to them, the walkers were all dead."

"Damn… you two are badass." Omid said.

"Be careful what you say around Gen… she'll pick up words like that pretty easily." Christa said.

"Sorry…" Omid said with a shrug.

"Heck… Clem was able to save my life that day. She took down six of them. I was barely able to take down two." Gil said.

"It kind of helped that I found that tomahawk." Clementine said.

"Yeah, you got a point." Gil said.

"Matthew… glad you're back." Walter said as he approached the man and hugged him.

"Hey Walter. I missed you." Matthew said.

"I missed you too." Walter said. He turned to his fellow group members and he said, "Good news. Dinner is served."

"That is very good news. I think my stomach is going to eat itself." Omid said and he walked to the table.

Christa chuckled before she picked up Genevieve. The baby babbled a bit and looked around; however, her eyes were glued to Clementine and Gil for the most part. Clementine smiled at the baby while Gil looked to the girl. "You look really happy." Gil said as the two children trailed behind the adults.

Christa was trying to get Genevieve in the highchair, but the detachable trey to the chair was tricky to work with. "It's been a while since I've been with good people. I don't think I want to go to Wellington anymore." Clementine said.

"I understand. They're all good people." Gil said.

The two children reached the table and Walter gave them a bowl of the soup that Clementine had earlier. Sarita told her that the soup consisted of peaches and beans "Thanks." Clementine said.

"Yeah, thank you, Walter." Gil said.

"You're welcome, and you don't have to thank me. We all have our roles in the group." Walter said.

"So what would our roles be?" Clementine asked.

"Well, for now… rest and relax. You two have been out there in the thick of it for a while." Sarita said.

Clementine frowned and she said, "I don't know if I can relax."

Christa and Omid looked to each other with a pair of frowns before they turned to the girl. "Hey Clementine, how about you look after Genevieve tomorrow so you can get to know each other. I'll be around if you need any help." Christa said.

Clementine smiled and she looked to the infant. "I would really like that."

"I'm glad to hear that, hon." Christa said with a smile.

"So Clementine, what grade were you in when all of this started?" Matthew asked.

"What kind of question is that, Matty?" Sarita asked with a chuckle.

"A modest one." Walter said. He turned to Clementine and said, "I'll need to know where your education stopped so I can continue teaching you all of the fundamentals."

"Actually… I was just making conversation." Matthew said with a chuckle. "I mean it's not like she worked or anything before the walkers started limping around."

"I was in third grade. It was pretty easy, but my mom and dad said I was really smart for my age." Clementine said.

"Cool, so with you being one of the smart kids, did you read any comic books in class?" Matthew asked.

Clementine giggled and she said, "I'm a girl. Of course I didn't read comic books in class."

"I was tempted to do that a couple of times. The teacher was talking about math and I just wanted to tune her out." Gil said with a smirk.

"I wish I could have done the same. I don't like math." Clementine said.

"Nobody likes math." Matthew said.

Clementine smiled before she took a spoonful of the peaches and beans and ate it. The conversation among the group members continued, but she was more focused on the smiling faces and laughter of the people around the table along with Genevieve's babbling. She never thought that she would ever see happiness similar to what she saw at the table that evening; she always thought that happiness and baby babbling would be something in the past. The atmosphere at the table was so warm and inviting that the girl thought for a moment that the world hadn't ended. It rivalled the warm atmosphere of her parent's home when her parents were alive.

Clementine continued to eat the soup while the adults continued their conversation. It seemed so foreign to her to see people laughing and having a fun time at the dinner table. It had been at least two long years since she seen anything like it. Unfortunately, time went on and soon everyone was finished with their meals. Plus, Genevieve was getting restless. She wanted to go back to playing with her toys. Christa obliged and picked up the girl. She went back to the living room with Genevieve while Walter and Matthew gathered up the dirty dishes.

"I'll take watch." Omid said. "How was it out there?"

"I just had to deal with a couple of stragglers." Sarita said. "It wasn't too bad today."

"Well, that'll make for a relaxing evening." Omid said before he went to the door.

Sarita approached Gil and Clementine and she said, "I'd like a hand in decorating the Christmas tree. You think you two could help me? Genevieve helped me a bit here and there, but I think you two should have a chance to finish decorating it with me."

"I would like that. I haven't decorated a Christmas tree for a long time." Gil said.

"Me too." Clementine said with a smile on her lips.

"Good. We'll make an evening out of it." Sarita said. She went over to the Christmas tree and placed another ornament on it. Gil and Clementine took ornaments from the box and they placed the ornaments on the tree. It reminded Clementine of the good times that she had with her family. She was smiling so much and enjoying her time with the new group, she felt like they were her new family.

… **To be continued.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I do not own** _ **The Walking Dead**_ **. All rights reserved to their respective owners.**

Clementine bobbed Genevieve on her lap. The toddler giggled and laughed as Clementine continued to play with her. Clementine smiled at the toddler as she giggled. Genevieve was easy to entertain and she was quite fun to watch. Clementine was glad that she had the chance to play with the toddler especially after enduring the first of Walter's lessons. She and Gil were back in school thanks to the former teacher. There was no homework, but there was certainly a lot of classwork.

"How are we doing?" Christa asked as she sat next to Clementine.

"She's a fun and happy baby, Christa." Clementine said with a smile.

"She certainly is." Christa said with a smile.

"Mama." Genevieve said and she extended her hands out to the woman. Clementine obliged and allowed the baby to go to Christa.

"Hi… what are you up to?" Christa said with sweet tone in her voice. Genevieve giggled and laughed again as Christa started to tickle her. However, both Christa and Clementine could hear the door open and footsteps running up the stairs.

"Christa!" Sarita exclaimed which made the woman and child look over to her. Sarita had a worried look on her face and she said, "There are people on the deck. It's a group and they appear to be armed." Sarita explained.

Christa was quick to act and she placed Genevieve into Clementine grasp. "Mama…" Genevieve said with a whimpering voice.

Christa looked back and she said, "Everything's fine, baby. You stay here and listen to Clem. I'll be back in a few minutes." Clementine was surprised to see that the toddler had calmed down a bit. Growing up with the walkers must have made her grow up too. "Omid, Walter, come on!" Christa exclaimed.

"Coming!" Omid said and he ran down the stairs with Walter following close behind.

"You think they'll be okay?" Gil asked as he approached Clementine.

"I hope so." Clementine said. She tried to bob Genevieve again in an attempt to make her giggle and laugh but the baby kept her eyes glued to where her mother and father were just seconds before. She was worried about them.

"So, how'd you survive Walter's lecture about Hawthorne?" Gil asked as he sat down next to Clementine.

"Wasn't easy." Clementine said. "My brain hurts from learning all that."

"Well, you can be proud in knowing something that only high school students would know." Gil said with a smirk.

"You know, that does help a little." Clementine said with a smirk. However, her smirk fell and she started to think to herself. She liked Gil a lot especially since he reminded her of Lee.

"What's wrong?" Gil asked.

Clementine looked to Gil and she asked, "Do you like me?"

"Wait, what?" Gil asked and his checks started to flush. "I, um, well… I…"

Clementine giggled and she said, "It's a simple question. Do you like me?"

"I… I… kind of… I think… yeah." Gil said as he looked away with a shy glance. "Sorry… it just… that caught me off guard."

"Because I know that I like you." Clementine said with a smile.

Gil looked back to her with a shocked stare. "Wait, why me?" Gil asked. "I'm… I'm weak and somewhat cowardly. I don't know what to do most of time, but you… You saved my life who knows how many times. You're strong, beautiful, caring, and really brave."

Clementine's cheeks started to flush as well. She had received compliments in the past, but to hear them coming from a boy that she liked was rare and nice. "You don't give yourself enough credit. You saved my life too. I was going down a dark road and you helped me out of it. You're also handsome, kind, and smart."

"I… um…" Gil said.

"Listen, we don't have to be alone anymore. We've been by each other's side for a while, and we both know that we like each other." Clementine said.

"I just… I don't know… what if things don't work out and… you go back down that road?" Gil said.

"I'm not going down that dark road again." Clementine said. "You'll always be there to help me. It's not like anything will change if we tell each other how we feel."

Gil nodded and he said, "Alright. I do like you."

"Good." Clementine said.

The two could hear the door open from downstairs and could hear footsteps heading up the stairs. Seconds ticked by until Christa, Omid, and Walter reached the top. "Mama! Dada!" Genevieve exclaimed and she had her arms out toward her parents.

Christa and Omid looked over to the baby with a pair of warm smiles. Omid walked to Genevieve to pick her up while Christa stayed at the top of the stairs. "It's safe. They seem like okay people… They're just a bit antsy." Christa said.

Omid picked up the baby and held her high while making a silly face. The toddler squealed and giggled at her father while Clementine and Gil got up. "Come on over. I don't think they're that bad." Christa said as she gestured Clementine and Gil to come and join her.

The two children obliged as the door opened up again. "Please make yourselves at home." Walter said. "You can leave your things over there."

Gil walked by Clementine as the girl looked down to the group below. Her eyes widened; it was her worst nightmare come true. It was that terrible group that lived in the cabin. The same group that took her supplies and held her at gunpoint. Pete, Carlos, and the older girl that helped her get her supplies back were missing from the group, but that didn't matter. The two most hostile group members were there. They were the last people she wanted to see.

"Clementine…" Luke said with a surprised stare aimed at the girl.

Nick raised his hunting rifle and aimed it at the girl. "You little shit." Nick hissed.

"Hey, hey, hey! Put that gun down now!" Christa exclaimed as she aimed at the young man with her hunting rifle.

"Ain't happening!" Nick said. "That little bitch stole from us!"

Clementine sent an irritated stare at Nick and she said, "I only took back my supplies which you stole from me."

"Doesn't matter." Nick said. "You still stole from us, and you're also the reason why Pete died."

"Nick, you need to calm down." Luke said.

"I'm not going to tell you again! Put the gun down!" Christa exclaimed with a ferocious voice. It made all of the inhabitants of the ski lodge shake a bit. Christa certainly was scary when she wanted to be.

"She got my uncle killed and she stole from us! I'm not going to let her get away with it!" Nick exclaimed with his glare still aimed at Clementine.

"How did I kill your uncle? I wasn't in that cabin for very long. Heck, maybe you're the one who killed him. You probably shot him like how you nearly shot me." Clementine said as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Shut up, you little shit! You brought Carver to us!" Nick exclaimed.

"What are you talking about? I don't even know who Carver is!" Clementine exclaimed.

"Don't play that bullshit with us. He shows up a day after you leave… it can't be a coincidence." Rebecca said.

"Maybe, this will make you talk, bitch!" Nick exclaimed. However, a shot rang out and a bullet hit Nick in the chest. The man fell back and started to choke on his blood.

"Nick! My gosh!" Luke exclaimed and he ran over to his friend.

"Anyone else want to give her shit?" Christa inquired as she glared at the three remaining people below. The doors to outside opened with Carlos, Sarita, and the teenager looking to the other cabin group members and Christa in horror.

"What happened? Is everything alright?" Sarita asked.

"Carlos, Nick needs help!" Luke exclaimed.

Carlos ran over while Christa kept her rifle aimed at the group. Rebecca was surprised and frightened by Christa's actions.

Carlos shook his head and he sighed. "There's nothing we can do for him. He's got a few more minutes to live." Carlos said.

Rebecca started to whimper a bit before she looked up and glared at Christa. "Are you happy? You just killed him!" Rebecca exclaimed with tears in her eyes.

"And I will kill the rest of you if you give Clementine any shit, got it?" Christa hissed.

"But, my baby!" Rebecca exclaimed.

"I. Don't. Care." Christa said. "Now weapons… over there on the bench." The remaining members of the cabin group were quick to comply and they placed their weapons and backpacks on the bench. Nick's gurgled breathing had stopped. He was dead much to cabin members' horror and sadness.

"Alright… while you're here. You are to not bully Clementine, Gil, or my daughter, Genevieve, at all. If you do, you'll either leave or you'll end up like your friend down there." Christa said. She aimed her rifle at Nick. The man was twitching and there was groaning coming from the man. The teenager from the group was crying uncontrollably; however, she squealed in horror when Christa shot the reanimated man in the head. "Am I understood?"

There was silence among the group members for a few seconds until Luke cleared his throat. "Yeah, we understand." Luke said.

"Good." Christa said. She turned to Sarita and she said, "Can you go ahead and show where they will be staying?" Her voice was back to being calm, and her glare was gone.

"Of course." Sarita said. She turned to cabin group and said, "Come, follow me." She headed up the stairs while Clementine looked to them with a glare. She hated that they came back to her, but at least she wasn't alone. Christa had proven that she was willing to go to any heights to protect her.

She looked back over to Christa and saw the woman sigh. "Christa, are you alright?" Walter asked.

Christa shook her head and she said, "It seems this world always has a few more surprises… the kind of people who live in this world... I wasn't ready for someone like him." She kept her stare on Nick. "How could anyone be as selfish and as arrogant as him?"

"It's a hard world out there. You and Omid know that better than anyone." Walter said. "Some people will sink to whole new lows… just because of how things are. That man was no exception."

Christa sighed and she said, "I guess I've been too fortunate. Omid and I have ran into some of the nicest people we've ever met… and I guess we've forgotten how shitty this world could be."

Clementine walked up to Christa and she said, "Thanks for defending me back there."

"Of course, honey. I wasn't going to let that man hurt you." Christa said. "I'm sorry that you had to see that, but I had to make sure that those idiots knew not to mess with you, Gil, or Gen."

"Christa, if anything, I should be thanking you. Nick would have shot me and killed me." Clementine said.

"Yeah, you're probably right…" Christa said.

"I'll go ahead and get dinner ready." Walter said and he left the three group members.

Christa looked up to Omid who was comforting Genevieve. It was obvious that the baby was upset over the arguing and the gunshots. "I need to go and check on my baby. Will you two be alright?"

"Yeah. We'll be fine." Gil said and Clementine nodded in agreement.

Christa nodded and she walked away.

Clementine looked back down to Nick's corpse; she had a hateful glare aimed at the body. "I'm glad he's dead. I hated him." Clementine said.

"Clem… you're… you're letting that group take you down. You're better than them." Gil said.

"You're right. I am better than them. I never hurt them, but they find a way to find me and they want to blame everything on me. They can all die for all I care." Clementine said with anger in her voice.

"Clem, they're probably scared and exhausted. You and I were exhausted when we found this place." Gil said.

"Are you saying that they're in the right?" Clementine inquired.

"No, of course not!" Gil exclaimed as he raised his hands in defense. "I'm just saying that they're people, and they just made a mistake." Gil looked to her with pleading eyes and he said, "Clementine, please, don't let these people drag you down. Don't go back to being cold."

Clementine looked down with a frown and she said, "I'm sorry, Gil, but… I have to be this way. I have to keep Christa, Omid, Sarita, Walter, Matthew, Gen, and you safe. I have to make sure that they don't do anything to hurt you guys."

Gil looked down with a frown and he sighed. "I wish these people had never shown up. You were doing so well… and now look what's happened. You're going to let them get to you." Gil said.

"It would have only been a matter of time. There's terrible people everywhere. These people are no different." Clementine said and she walked away.

 **One Hour Later**

The atmosphere within the cabin was cold and filled with tension. Most of the cabin group were upstairs with the exception of Luke who had to take Nick's body outside. There was no way to bury him, so all that the man could do was mourn for his friend. Clementine stayed close by to Christa, Omid, and Genevieve. Her golden eyes were fixated on the group members upstairs. One of Walter's CDs was playing in the background, but Clementine knew that the cabin group were talking amongst themselves.

She turned when she heard the doors from outside closing and she looked over to see Luke. His eyes connected with hers and he walked over to where she was. "Hey… can we talk?" Luke asked the girl.

"No." Clementine said with a blunt and cold voice.

Luke sighed and he said, "Can you at least give me a chance to explain-"

"She doesn't want to talk to you. Leave." Christa said.

"Look, I'm sorry about Nick, alright." Luke said. "He lost his mom about a week before you showed up and he was still tense. Then he lost Pete… and well… he's been reckless ever since."

"He was hostile! He was going to shoot me!" Clementine exclaimed.

"Look, I know… but he wasn't a bad guy." Luke said. "He was sad and angry… and for some reason, he took that out on you. I know it doesn't seem fair, but it certainly wasn't fair of you to say that he probably shot Pete. That probably hurt him a lot."

"And you think I care?" Clementine inquired.

Luke sent a glare toward the girl and he said, "You know, I actually thought you were a nice little girl when we first met, but I guess I was wrong." He turned and stomped away from the group and the girl.

Christa sent a glare toward Luke and she turned to Clementine. "You don't have to worry about them. They're leaving tomorrow. I should have never let them in."

"It's fine." Clementine said. "I'm more worried about that Carver guy they mentioned. When I first met them, they lived in a cabin; it seemed like a good set-up. I wouldn't think that they would leave unless…"

"…Unless something made them leave." Omid said.

Clementine nodded and she asked, "Is there another exit in here?"

"Yes. There's an emergency exit in the back of the building. I made sure to hide it so that only Omid, Sarita, Matthew, Walter, and I know where it is." Christa said.

"Good." Clementine said. "If that Carver guy shows up… then we're going to need it."

"Alright, everyone dinner is served." Walter said from the table. It was peaches and beans again. Clementine walked over and sat at the table with Christa and Omid. Like last night, Christa had to fight with the highchair, but unlike last night, the room was very quiet and filled with tension. Clementine didn't have to turn around to know that the cabin members were sending glares at her.

… **To be continued.**

 **A/N: Peace is shattered… dammit Nick and Luke.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I do not own** _ **The Walking Dead**_ **. All rights reserved to their respective owners.**

Clementine ate some of the peaches and beans while she tried to ignore the group behind her. She wasn't alone in trying to ignore the group. Everyone else at her table were doing the same except for Genevieve who had no understanding on what was going on.

"So Clem, who's this Carver guy that they keep mentioning?" Omid asked.

"I have no idea. They just think that I'm working with him." Clementine said.

"I hate to say it… but we might have to leave tomorrow." Christa said.

"Christa, what do you mean?" Sarita asked.

"Those bastards are on the run from some guy… Do you really think that he's going to leave us be?" Christa asked.

"I… no… you're right. You definitely got a point." Sarita said.

"Where do you suggest we go?" Omid asked. "We can't go south, there's nothing left there but the walkers. These guys came from the west, so we can't go that way; otherwise, we'll run into that Carver guy. And if we try to go east, we'll run into more walkers and the damn ocean."

"Then we go north." Christa said.

"We can't. Winter is coming and Genevieve will need to stay warm." Sarita said.

"We don't have choice." Christa said. She looked up when she noticed one of the group members approaching her table. "What do you want?"

"To talk." The stocky man said and he sat down next to Clementine. "I'm sorry about my group. There's someone in that group that I used to love… but she's not been herself… not for a long time." He had a frown on his face.

Christa calmed herself and she said, "So, you don't want to stay with that group?"

"I wish I could leave." The man said. "I'm… I just don't have any backbone… I never needed one. I never was good at confrontation." He turned to Clementine and he said, "You have no idea how much I wanted to help you. I… I didn't like what my group did. I want out… I can tell that you guys are decent people or as decent as you can get these days."

"How do we know we can trust you?" Christa asked with a glare aimed at the man.

"I'll tell you everything about Carver." The man said. All eyes widened and they looked to the man with attentive stares.

"Carver is the leader of Howe's Hardware. It's in Tennessee. He started off as an okay guy… kept us all safe… but slowly… he started to lose himself." The man explained.

"Is he insane?" Sarita asked.

"I don't know. He's ruthless and calculating, so I'm going to say no." The man said. "I was married to Rebecca at the time and we thought that the baby was ours, but Carver was convinced that the baby was his. Didn't find out till later that Rebecca was sleeping with him and me. I was so angry… but what was I going to do. I wasn't going to let that child be raised by that madman. So, I stayed with Bec, but things only got worse. Soon, we decided to leave but even that didn't go right. We had to leave a friend behind and I nearly had to kill someone."

They looked to the stocky man with wide eyes. "Wow… so, that's who were up against." Omid said.

"Thank you… um…" Sarita said to the man.

"It's Alvin." The man said.

"Well, we appreciate it, Alvin. I'm sure your group will give you flak for doing this." Christa said.

"They think I'm talking to you guys to tell you to cool it." Alvin said. "Of course, I know Nick had no right in doing what he did." Alvin sighed and he said, "I better get back to my group."

"Alvin." Christa said before the stocky man got up. "If that Carver guy shows up, you follow us."

Alvin nodded and he said, "Thanks. Won't mind if I bring Sarah with me… she's scared of the group too."

"I don't mind." Christa said. Alvin nodded and he got up from the table to return to his group. Soon, Christa got up and she looked over to Omid. "Stay with Gen for a little while. I'm going to pack up everything for the trip." Omid nodded and took Christa's place in feeding the baby. Christa turned and she headed up the stairs.

Sarita sighed and she said, "I know that Christa is trying to keep us safe, but I don't think Gen's ready to go back out there."

"Yeah… it's not going to be easy doing that with a baby." Gil said.

"I wish we could have spent more time here." Omid said. "I didn't want this to be a permanent spot, but I just wanted Gen to grow up a little more before we headed back out there."

Walter looked to the door and he sighed. "I wonder why it's taking Matthew so long… He should have been here by now." Walter said.

"I wouldn't worry too much. Matty's strong. I'm sure he's fine." Sarita said.

Walter frowned and he said, "I hope so…" He got up from his seat and headed to the door to go outside.

The other five group members finished their meals in relative silence. They didn't spend much time at the table since they were almost done eating. Omid got up first and helped Genevieve from the highchair. He then placed her on the ground and she ran off to play with her toys. Clementine smiled a bit before she got up as well and followed the two. However, Gil stayed at the table with Sarita. He didn't follow Clementine like he normally did.

Genevieve laughed and giggled as she played with the toys in front of her while Omid did his best to play with her. Clementine joined him and she played with the toddler as well. Clementine almost felt like she didn't have to worry about Luke's group.

Omid looked up to Clementine and he said, "You're not the same little girl as I remember." Clementine looked up to see a frown on his face and regret in his eyes.

Clementine shook her head and she said, "No… I guess not." For the first time that she's known him, Omid was being serious. It scared Clementine; he was always sarcastic and smiling. "I am what I had to become in this world."

"I know." Omid said. "It hurts to see you like this. You used to be a happy, go-getting eight year old… and now, it feels like…"

"I'm a survivor, Omid, just like you and Christa." Clementine said.

Omid shook his head and he said, "No, you're not. You're something different. I didn't notice it until that new group came, but now, I see it. I feel like a failure. Christa and I were supposed to find you, so that you wouldn't have to grow up, but we failed."

"If you were to find me, anything could have happened. I like how things turned out. I'm stronger now, and you and Christa are alive. Plus, you both had your baby; she's what's important now. Not me." Clementine said.

"You still mean a lot to us!" Omid exclaimed. "Look, I love Genevieve, but I love you too. You… were like a little niece to me."

"I know you love me. I love you too. You act like my dad. You're always trying to crack jokes, even if they are dry." Clementine said with a smile.

"Dry? Hey, wait a minute. Those jokes are high quality." Omid said with a smirk forming on his face. "They make you and Gen laugh, so that's a victory for me."

"I know. I'm just giving you a hard time." Clementine said.

Omid smiled a bit before he sighed. "You know I wish things were different. I'm not sure what would have happened if Christa and I had found you but… I'd like to think that… maybe she and I could have kept you from this harsh world for just a little longer…"

Clementine sent a frown to Omid. She was about to speak up, but she could hear a whipping sound in the background. "What is that?" Clementine asked.

"Oh crap… that's the wind turbine." Omid said with wide eyes. He got up and ran to the stairs much to Genevieve's dismay.

"It's okay, baby. He'll be back." Clementine said and she picked up the toddler. She tried to comfort the girl by bobbing her in her arms. She could hear the door open from downstairs along with the howling wind from outside, but it only lasted for a couple of seconds.

Clementine turned her head when she heard footsteps coming down the stairs. "What's going on?" Christa asked.

"Omid went out to check on the wind turbine." Clementine explained. The door to downstairs was opened again and she turned to the stairs.

Omid reached the top of the steps and he said, "The storm has the wind turbine spinning out of control. We need to shut it down."

Christa ran toward Omid along with Sarita. Clementine could hear their footsteps descending the stairs along with the clicking of guns. The howling wind soon stopped when the doors were closed.

"Mama, dada." Genevieve cried.

"Shhh… they'll be back." Clementine said as she rubbed the girl's back. This seemed to calm the infant. Clementine looked up and saw Gil walking towards her. "Hey…" Clementine said.

"Hey…" Gil said. "You're not mad at me, right?"

"No… I'm not." Clementine said. She placed Genevieve on the ground, but the toddler wasn't interested in playing with the blocks anymore. She wanted her parents to return. Clementine could still hear the whipping sound from outside. "I hope they're going to be okay." Clementine said.

"You should be more worried about yourselves." Clementine heard Rebecca hissed. She turned her head and looked to Luke's group. Sarah and Alvin were still at the table, but Carlos, Luke, and Rebecca were walking towards Clementine and Gil. Clementine knew something was up. She could see that Alvin had a disappointed frown on his face while he tried to comfort Sarah.

Somehow, they had armed themselves with handguns. "Wait a minute! How are you armed?" Gil exclaimed.

"Remember when I went to take care of Nick. I grabbed a couple of handgun on the way back up. I was hoping that it didn't come to this, but you never gave us a choice." Luke said.

"You should have died in that shed… maybe then we wouldn't have to do this." Carlos said. All three group members raised their handguns at the two children while Clementine pulled out her handgun which was strapped to a belt that was around her hips.

Clementine aimed the gun at Rebecca's bulging stomach and she said, "Back off now or I will kill her unborn child!"

"You wouldn't!" Rebecca said as she backed away from Clementine. She could hear gunfire in the background. It must have been Christa, Omid, Walter, and Sarita. However, she couldn't hear the whipping sound from earlier; they must have turned off the wind turbine.

"You aren't giving me any choice." Clementine said. Carlos and Luke also started to back down with glares aimed at the girl.

"Crazy bitch… what kind of person aims a gun at an unborn child?" Luke snapped.

"You also put a knife against my daughter's throat." Carlos said. "I guess you're the true monster of this world."

"No, you three are and so was Nick." Gil snapped. "No wonder Clementine was so cold when I met her. With psychopaths like you guys around, it's only natural that she would have to put up a tough front so she could avoid getting hurt."

"Shut up!" Carlos hissed.

"This has nothing to do with you kid." Luke said. "We just need to talk to Clementine." He turned back to the girl. "Put the gun down or I will kill that baby of yours." Luke said and he aimed his handgun at Genevieve. The toddler instinctively hid behind Clementine, but Clementine knew that Luke would have a clear shot regardless.

Clementine had no choice. She had to back down. The last thing she wanted to see happen was for Genevieve to die or get hurt. She tossed the gun aside and a victorious smirk formed on Luke's face. He grabbed Clementine by the arm and placed her at gunpoint. "You know… I should kill you for what happened to Nick. He was a good guy… and you got him killed." Luke hissed. "Maybe this ought to teach you a lesson." Luke said and he aimed at Genevieve.

"No!" Clementine exclaimed as she fought to free herself from Luke's grasp. The shot was fired, but something rushed over in front of Genevieve and took the bullet. It was Gil.

"AHH!" Gil exclaimed and he fell to the ground. He coughed and groaned in pain while the group members watched on with some horror in their eyes. Genevieve cried while Clementine looked to the boy.

"Gil!" Clementine exclaimed. She noticed that the shot had hit his leg which meant that it wasn't a fatal wound. Clementine also noticed that the gunfire from outside had stopped. Hopefully, Christa and Omid could stop the three hostile group members.

"The gunfire has stopped." Carlos said. "Keep her at gunpoint, Luke."

"I intend to." Luke said. He had no remorse in his voice for what happened to Gil. It made Clementine hate the man more than she already did.

She heard the doors open again which was followed by several pairs of footsteps coming up the stairs. It was too many for it to be her group. She looked over and saw a new person reaching the top of the stairs. "No…" Carlos muttered.

He was joined by several other men along with Christa, Omid, Sarita, and Walter. She had a good idea on who the man was; he had to be Carver. Clementine could feel Luke's grip loosen. She bit down on Luke's arm which made him yell out in pain and loosen his grip completely. She grabbed her handgun and ran to the stairs. "Little bitch!" Luke exclaimed and he fired at Clementine. The girl weaved and the bullet hit the window.

She ran up the stairs while hearing Genevieve's cries intensify along with some arguing from downstairs. She got to one of the windows upstairs and dropped down to the ground below. She had no idea how she was going to get her group out of Carver's clutches, but she would have to find a way to succeed.

She circled around the building and was careful in making sure that she wasn't spotted. "Hey Clem." She heard someone whisper. She turned and aimed the gun at the individual. "Easy… it's just me." Matthew said. He didn't looked good. There was a bandage wrapped around his arm and it appeared to be soak with blood.

"Matthew…" Clementine said and she lowered her gun. "What happened to you?"

"That asshole… I think his name was Nick… he shot at me… barely made it out of there alive." Matthew explained.

"I need help." Clementine said.

"I noticed. That guy has our group. What are we going to do? There's not many options." Matthew said.

"Christa said you knew where the emergency exit was. Can you get to it from outside and help our group escape?" Clementine asked.

"I think so." Matthew said. "But how are we going to do that. That guy who's the leader… he's going to notice people leaving."

"I'll distract him." Clementine said. She turned and ran to the wind turbine. She dealt with wind turbines before. All she would need to do is turn it back on and Carver's people would come back out. It would give Matthew the opening he needed.

… **To be continued.**

 **A/N: Wow, this chapter was exciting… Alvin is planning to betray Luke and company, Gil is shot, and Carver has come. But anyway, as you can tell, Alvin is a bit OOC.**


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Well, you guys have probably already noticed this, but I won't be updating much. I got projects due in classes and exams and finals to study for.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own** _ **The Walking Dead**_ **. All rights reserved to their respective owners.**

Clementine reached the wind turbine and opened the control panel. She pulled out her lighter from her hoodie pocket and lit it. She looked around until she found the key to start up the wind turbine. She grabbed the key and placed it into the wind turbine's starter. Clementine backed away and she looked up to see that the wind turbine was starting to spin. Clementine turned and she ran from the wind turbine while it started to pick up speed from the wind.

Clementine returned to the ski lodge, but she went to the side of the building. She had her handgun in her hands as she watched Carver and his men scramble around inside. It didn't take long until three of the five group members inside to head down the stairs of the ski lodge. Clementine's plan was working.

"We got to turn off that damn wind turbine." One of the men exclaimed. She heard several pairs of footsteps running toward the wind turbine. Soon, the sound of the footsteps faded and Clementine held up her gun. All she had to do was wait for Matthew to show up. Several tense-filled seconds passed by until she could finally see Matthew at the doorway which led to the secret escape. Clementine shot at the ski lodge. She didn't aim for anyone, but she was trying to keep Carver and his last guard from pursuing her group.

Carver and his guard hid behind a column in the ski lodge while Clementine kept shoot near them. She noticed that Christa who was untied and holding Genevieve was running for the doorway along with Omid, Sarita, Alvin, Sarah, and Walter. Gil was unable to move due to his previous gunshot wound. Clementine knew that she would have to stay to help him escape.

Clementine continued to fire at Carver and his last guard while most of Christa's group escaped. However, she noticed that Walter and Matthew stopped to hug each other. "No, you have to run." Clementine whispered. She tried to shoot again, but all she heard was a click. She gasped and her eyes widened. "No…" Clementine said.

A gunshot was heard from inside the ski lodge. She could hear Walter and Matthew scream out in pain. Clementine huffed as she watched both men fall to the ground with them on top of each other. They were either injured or dead. "Don't move." She heard a woman's voice hiss. Clementine looked next to her to see an orange haired woman with a glare aimed at Clementine along with an assault rifle. "Drop the gun now!" The woman hissed.

Clementine obliged and allowed her gun to drop to the ground. "Move!" The woman hissed and she grabbed Clementine by the arm and forced her forward.

"Bonnie, take it easy. She's just a kid." One of the men said. He seemed more physically imposing than the other two guards.

"She could have killed Bill!" Bonnie exclaimed.

"Let's just go inside and see if anything happened before we start making assumptions." The man snapped.

"Okay… fine." Bonnie hissed.

The man groaned before he gestured the girl forward. Clementine obliged as she kept thinking over what happened to Walter and Matthew. She hoped that they were okay, but that scream… it didn't sound right.

Minutes passed by until they entered the ski lodge. "Useless!" Carver exclaimed as he beat the guard's face with his fist.

"Bill!" The man from outside exclaimed.

Carver looked up and his glare turned into a smirk. "Well, I'd be damned. I got outplayed by a little girl. Were you the little sniper outside?"

Clementine nodded before Bonnie spoke up. "She was. Did anyone get hurt?" Bonnie said.

"From her, no. She only kept us pinned down so that some of the group here could escape." Carver said.

"Oh…" Bonnie said with a guilty sounding voice.

"However, that damned idiot over there killed TWO people without my authorization!" Carver snapped at the guard on the ground.

"Bill…" The guard said.

"Shut the f*** up!" Carver exclaimed. "This mission was for capturing people, not killing them!"

"What should we do? Should we go after them?" The man asked.

Carver pondered for a few seconds until Clementine spoke up. "It wouldn't be a good idea to try to follow that group. You don't know if there are bandits in the surrounding forest and you don't have very good visibility. The group would just be more trouble to capture than it's worth."

Carver smiled before he clapped his hands. "Bravo. You took the words out of my mouth." He looked up to his fellow group members and he said, "We're heading back. I don't care about Sarah, and Alvin would only get in the way. Are you alright with leaving, George? I understand that you and Alvin have… history."

The man known as George nodded and he said, "I'm alright with that. I don't have a grudge against him for what happened."

"Alright then… round them up. We're leaving." Carver said. George, Bonnie, and the other man passed by Clementine and went to the other group members; however, Clementine stayed where she was and she looked to Carver.

"What happened… What happened to Matthew and Walter?" Clementine asked.

Carver sighed and he said, "I'm afraid Troy shot them. I put them out of their misery… such a shame."

Clementine looked down with a frown. "However…" Carver said. Clementine looked back up to see a smirk on Carver's lips. "Today marks the end of this foolish trek and the beginning of something new… something better. You… you are a remarkable child. You used your surroundings and outsmarted me… which is exceedingly rare. Children like you… are going to bring a bright future into this world."

"If you say so." Clementine said.

"Bill, what do you want to do with her?" George asked. "And what about Troy?"

A glare formed on Carver's features and he said, "Troy has screwed up for the last time. His incompetence keeps getting people killed. Put him out in the yard." His glare disappeared and he looked to Clementine. "I hate to throw you out there with Luke and his group of crippled f****, but you have to work your way up. However, after what I've seen today… well… you won't be out in that yard for very long."

"What about Gil? He needs medical attention." Clementine said.

"Yes… he will be in the infirmary with Vera until he can walk… then I'll put him on light duty. If he keeps his head down and do as he is told, he will only be in that for two weeks. You, on the other hand, will only be in the yard for a couple of nights… there's much we need to discuss."

Clementine nodded as one of the guards went behind her and tied her wrists together. George walked over and lifted Gil up and placed him over his shoulder. The boy was unconscious. More than likely he passed out from the pain. Clementine turned and followed the group members. Carver took the lead in front of the group. For once, Clementine noticed that Luke, Carlos, and Rebecca were sad. She felt no sympathy since the three tried to take her hostage, nearly killed Genevieve, and shot Gil. Clementine felt even more resentment toward Troy since he killed Walter and Matthew.

The group members walked from the ski lodge and continued down through the forest. Clementine looked back and forth in the surrounding woods. She had no idea what awaited for her at Carver's camp, but she was happy that Christa, Omid, Genevieve, Sarita, Alvin, and Sarah escaped. At least, Carver wouldn't bother them anymore.

* * *

Clementine sat in the back of the truck and looked to her feet. She did make sure that the group didn't make a move against her, but so far none of its member made a move. Troy had been grumbling and complaining to himself for the last several hours; however, no one paid attention to him.

She heard Gil groan and she looked over. "Shit… my leg's on fire." Gil muttered.

"It'll be alright. Carver's going to have someone look at it." Clementine said.

"No… I can't…" Gil huffed.

"Try to relax." Clementine said. "Christa, Omid, Genevieve, Sarita, Alvin, and Sarah escaped."

"Yeah, they shouldn't have been able to escape. You f***** me, you little shit!" Troy spat at Clementine. "I'll make sure you pay!"

"If you try to hurt me, Carver will kill you. Nick was stupid just like you. Unless you want to die like him, maybe you should adjust on how you do things." Clementine said in an emotionless tone of voice.

"F*** you bitch!" Troy snapped.

Luke sighed and he said, "Alright… I really hate to say this… but… dammit… we're going to have to work together to get out of this."

"What if I don't want to get out of this?" Clementine asked. "I really don't see why you guys left in the first place."

"What are you talking about? You talked to him first hand. You know what he's like." Carlos said.

"Yeah, he gets worked up and he gets tense… but I don't see how he can be dangerous." Clementine said.

"He came barging in with guards and held us at gunpoint! Of course he's f****** dangerous!" Carlos snapped.

"And how exactly are you guys different from him?" Clementine asked. "You locked me in a shed, held me at gunpoint multiple times, made attempts on my life and the lives of my friends… and worst of all, you tried to kill a baby and got my friend shot."

"Look… I admit that we may have taken it a little too far, but we did it so that we could keep our loved ones safe. Besides, your hands aren't clean in all of this." Luke said with a glare. "I feel that we were justified for what we did. We were only trying to survive. Isn't that what you do?"

"Yes but even I have limits. Ever consider the fact that I was BLUFFING about shooting Rebecca's unborn child?" Clementine inquired with a glare of her own. "You guys were armed and I could tell that you meant us harm, so I had to act."

"Clem's right. You guys are out of control." Gil said. Clementine gave the boy a thankful stare for siding with her before she looked back to Luke's group with a glare.

Luke had a frown on his face and he sighed. "It doesn't matter anymore. We're all in this together now." Luke said.

"There ain't no 'we'!" Troy hissed. "I ain't going to be associated with you assholes!"

"I don't want to be associated with you either." Clementine said.

"Fine…" Luke hissed. "We'll escape by ourselves."

"Whatever." Clementine muttered as she looked away from Luke and his remaining group. She could tell that Rebecca didn't seem to care that Alvin left her since she didn't have a tang of regret or sadness in her facial features. However, Carlos appeared to be antsy. It was like he wanted to get back to Sarah as soon as possible.

Rebecca sighed and she said, "I don't know, Luke. Carver seemed different back at the ski lodge. He didn't seem hostile."

"Bec, he will do anything to hurt you… much like that bitch over there." Luke said. Clementine knew that he was referring to her, but she didn't care.

"I don't care what you say. I need to get back out there and find my daughter." Carlos said.

"We will." Luke said. "I promise."

The rest of the ride consisted of nothing but silence among the people in the back with the exception of Gil huffing from his gunshot wound and Troy spatting curses and angry remarks that were barely audible. Soon, Clementine closed her eyes and allowed herself to sleep. She may have been around hostile people, but it wasn't like any of them could do anything to hurt her.

* * *

Clementine opened her eyes upon hearing the distinct sound of a backup siren. She sat upright and looked to Gil. "What's going on?" Clementine asked.

"We're here." Luke muttered. The sound of the siren stopped and there was a light thump outside. Seconds later, the back door of the truck opened to reveal an African-American woman, Bonnie, and George on the other side.

"Alright, up and at 'em!" The African-American woman said. Most of the group members obliged and headed out of the truck and into a loading dock. However, Troy and Gil were the exception.

Clementine walked forward but she stopped in front of George. "What about my friend?" Clementine asked as she gestured to Gil.

"Don't worry. I'll get him to Vera. She should be able to fix his leg up." George replied. He turned and he said, "Johnny, take my place and get these guys to the yard."

"You got it." The guard from the ski lodge said and he joined the African-American woman and Bonnie.

"Troy, get your ass up." The African-American woman said with an angered tone in her voice.

"F*** you!" Troy hissed. "I shouldn't be with these assholes."

"You f***** up." The woman hissed. "Bill made it clear that you were to follow his lead and not kill anyone unless there was no other choice, but instead, you got two people killed."

"This is f****** stupid! Who cares if two assholes got killed?" Troy inquired.

"We can do this one of two ways. You can either move your ass and get up or I can shoot you. Bill has given me authorization to kill you if you don't cooperate." The woman said.

Troy grumbled to himself and he said, "Fine… I hate this… I hate all of you!" He got up and stomped forward. "There, I'm up!"

"Good. Come on." The woman said and she led the group further into what appeared to be a hardware store. The high shelves and well-trimmed wood was a dead giveaway that it was a hardware store. They walked past a couple of doors that led into the store. Clementine could see several armed guards at the ready. Each one had an assault rifle. Clementine knew that Carver was trying to intimidate the group from escaping again.

"We've got some familiar faces back with us tonight." Carver's voice was heard over the PA. "Now, I understand some of you are confused as to why we'd bring some of these people back when they left us as they did."

"I think I got an idea." The woman commented.

"It might not come all at once." Carver continued over the PA. "But time will heal these wounds, so be patient with them until it does… and take solace in knowing that they're here to help us make this home a better place. All these feelings you have of anger…betrayal….hate… they're all valid. No one needs to forget what they did… but we have to find it in our hearts to forgive them."

… **To be continued.**

 **A/N: Well, gaara brought this to my attention since to me the title isn't nearly as important as the story itself. The title is called Clementine Alone because Clementine had to survive on her own after Lee died. And in some ways, she does feel alone since her parents and guardian are gone.**


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N: Hey guys... sorry it's been a while. I had the next chapter of Independent ready to go, but when I read through it… it just didn't sound right. So, it took some time to correct it. Also, SoTR will be published soon and I'm very excited about that.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own** _ **The Walking Dead**_ **. All rights reserved to their respective owners.**

Clementine continued to look around the hardware store. She noticed that the hardware store turned survivor's shelter appeared to be thriving. There was so much food on the shelf. She hadn't seen anything like it after the walkers came.

"Come on. We need you for something." Johnny said to Carlos. Clementine looked over to the two men.

"Can't it wait until morning? We're all exhausted." Carlos said.

"Sorry, Bill's orders. Vera just needs to talk to you about some of the changes made in infirmary." Johnny said. Carlos sighed and he followed Johnny. Clementine was relieved that the doctor was away from her for the time being, but she still had to deal with Troy and Luke.

The group finally reached a garage door with the guard, Bonnie, unlocking it. "Make sure y'all stay off the fences. Bill will know that you're messin with them." She then opened the garage door. Luke, Rebecca, and Troy went outside with Clementine following close behind. The girl looked around the area and noticed that there were a couple of tables set up along with a fire pit and plywood beds. Clementine also noticed that it was completely fenced in; it almost felt like a prison.

"Best if y'all get some rest." Bonnie said as she began to cut the groups' bindings. "You ain't going to get much tomorrow."

"This is f****** stupid. I didn't do anything wrong, and I get thrown in with these assholes." Troy snapped.

"Troy, do us all a favor and shut up." Johnny said.

"No. How about I shove that rifle up your ass?" Troy hissed.

"Yeah… go ahead. Keep up that attitude. Won't be long until Bill gives you shit for it." Johnny said.

"F*** you." Troy hissed as Bonnie sliced through his bindings. He turned and went over to the other side of the yard to sulk.

Bonnie went to Clementine last and she cut her bindings. She knew that Bonnie didn't like her so she wanted to get away from the woman as soon as possible. As soon as she was freed from her bindings, Clementine walked away from Bonnie and noticed a man with only one arm approaching the group. She was curious as to why he lost his other arm.

"Hey guys." The man said with a smile.

Rebecca looked to the man and exclaimed, "Reggie!" She gasped upon seeing him and went up to the man. "I'm so sorry!" Rebecca said as she hugged him. "I'm so sorry." They separated from the hug and Rebecca saw that he had lost his left arm. "What happened to you?"

"This could have been worse. Trust me." Reggie said to Rebecca. "I'm lucky to be alive. So where's everyone else at?"

"Ask her." Luke said as he gestured to Clementine.

"Luke?" Reggie said.

"It's nothing." Rebecca said. "We've all changed a little while we were out there."

"Rebecca, she killed Pete and Nick and who knows what happened to Sarah and Alvin." Luke said.

Clementine sighed and she said, "I didn't do anything to Pete, and as for Nick, it's his fault that he died. He shouldn't have pointed that gun at me."

"Still, Nick didn't deserve that." Luke said. "He was a good man and he died in a horrible way. It just wasn't right."

"Well, that's how a lot of people die nowadays. I lost my parents and my guardian on the same day. All three of them were good people and I'd do anything to have them back." Clementine said. "But that's not how the world works… All I can do is accept their sacrifice in keeping me alive."

"Sacrifice or murder?" Luke hissed. "I bet you got them killed."

Clementine looked away from Luke. She felt tears forming in her eyes. Luke's last sentence kept echoing in her mind. She may have had nothing to do with her parents dying, but Lee… he would still be alive if it wasn't for her. She kept getting flashes of him in her mind… of his last few seconds with her… before she had to leave him. She didn't even have the strength to put him out of his misery.

"So, it's true. You got them killed." Luke said with sneering tone in his voice.

"Luke… What… What are you doing?" Reggie asked. There was fear in his voice which indicated that he was afraid of the man.

"Hey, she deserves this." Luke said.

Clementine heard footsteps behind her and she turned to see the African-American woman. "Sorry to interrupt, but I need her to come see Bill."

"Good. Hopefully she'll get what's coming to her." Luke said.

"Go ahead. Reggie and I have some catching up to do." Rebecca said.

"Good." The woman said. "Come on." She led the way to head inside the hardware store.

* * *

The African-American woman led Clementine down the aisles and to the check-out stations. Clementine looked up and could see Carver watching her with a smirk. He was in an office of some kind.

The woman led her up the stairs and into the office. "Thank you, Tavia. We'll need a few minutes to talk." Carver said to the woman.

Tavia nodded and she walked out of the office. Carver took a seat in the chair behind the desk before he gestured for Clementine to sit down in the other chair. Clementine obliged and she sat down in the chair. "Well… you really are something you know that." Carver said. "I already mentioned that you outsmarted me by using your surroundings, but there's something else about you. Hmm… I guess I'll find out soon. You know, I always hated Luke. His damn preaching about taking the high road and being a better person. I mean it's the f****** end of the world. Who cares how we do this? What matters is if something keeps you alive, you do it… despite the ramifications. Wouldn't you agree?"

Clementine stared down and she shook her head. "It's alright if you believe that, but… I won't let anymore good people die. I've already killed too many good people as is."

Carver hummed and he said, "I can see the logic behind that. However, what if you were to have a group? What if you couldn't save all of them? Would you be willing to die for them and leave them leaderless which is a death sentence nowadays?"

"Yes." Clementine said as she looked up. "Too many good people have died because of me already. I won't let anyone else die for me."

"And what about that boy, Gil? What happened there?" Carver asked.

Clementine sighed and she said, "Luke was able to grab some of the guns from downstairs. He and his group couldn't keep them since Nick threatened to kill me a few hours earlier. They tried to hold us hostage, but I wasn't going to let that happen. I tried bluffing that I would shoot Rebecca's unborn child but Luke said that he would shoot the baby that was with us. I surrendered after that, but he tried to kill Genevieve anyway. Gil was able to save her by taking the bullet."

Carver showed immense surprise and he said, "Well now… I can't believe that Luke lost himself like that. Like I said, he used to preach about being the better person, but now, in an ironic twist, he's become the very person that he warned me about. Anyway, when I first saw that you were keeping me and that bumbling idiot, Troy, pinned down… it gave me hope. I saw the future generation walking through that door. A smart, strong, and strategic child. Something that my child will become. What we're trying to do here is bring humanity back from the brink by any means necessary, and to do that, the next generation has to be stronger than the last."

"I don't really want anyone to go through what I've went through." Clementine said. "No one deserves that."

"True. No one should, but what about the generation after yours. Your children… wouldn't you want them to grow up without knowing what a walker is or never seeing one?"

"Absolutely. I don't want them to go through what I've been through." Clementine said.

Carver smirked and he said, "Then there you go. This is why your generation will have to become stronger. It's so that we can protect the generation after yours. If we do things that seem a bit… drastic but better the lives of the following generation, then we have to do it. The ends justify the means."

"I understand." Clementine said.

"Good." Carver said with a smirk. "Go ahead and go back out to the yard. It's been a long day."

Clementine nodded and she got out of her seat. She headed down the stairs and toward the yard with most of the guards walking around. They didn't seem to pay much attention to her. Once she reached the garage door that led out to the yard, the guard standing next to it opened the door. Clementine walked out into the yard and noticed that most of the group that was outside was already asleep.

Part of her still felt on edge, but she knew that her body needed rest for tomorrow. She walked over and laid down on one of the plywood beds. She hoped that Luke, Carlos, and Troy wouldn't bother her, but she knew better than to just hope. Thankfully, she had become a light sleeper over the past couple of years to avoid getting eaten by walkers. So the three hostile members in the yard would have to acquire a decent amount of stealth to get the jump on her. Clementine closed her eyes and fell asleep despite feeling a bit antsy.

* * *

Morning finally arrived and the girl opened her eyes. She sat upright to see Luke and Carlos talking to one another. They were probably talking about an escape plan.

Clementine got up and she looked around the yard. She didn't notice it yesterday, but there were two other people out in the yard. One was a woman with short brown hair and the other was a lean African-American man. She didn't know why, but the man reminded her a little bit of Lee. After all, Lee was also very lean. She heard the garage door open and turned to see one of the guards at the door.

"Alright everyone, get up. Bill's coming out here soon and the last thing that needs to happen is for him to have to wait on you." The guard said.

Despite their many differences with each other, Luke, Carlos, Rebecca, Clementine, Reggie, the lean man, and the woman gathered around the door. However, Troy stayed back and sent a glare to everyone around the door.

"Come on, Troy… the harder you work, the sooner you get out of this yard." The guard said.

"F*** that. I ain't working with these assholes." Troy hissed.

"You don't got a choice. Bill ain't going to give you one." The guard said.

"You know what?" Troy snapped. "Bill can kiss my ass for all I care."

"Come on dude. Don't do this." The guard said.

The group soon heard footsteps approaching them from inside the hardware store. It was Carver. He had a smug look on his face with Tavia and George following him. "Hmm… well done, Tyler. Almost everyone is here." Carver turned his head to see Troy sending a dirty look his way. "Come on… you got a lot of work to do today."

"I ain't doing shit!" Troy snapped as he got up and went over to Carver.

"Think about this Troy." George said as he raised his rifle and aimed it at Troy.

"Shut up!" Troy hissed and he continued his approach toward Carver. "I ain't working with these assholes, and I do believe that you owe me an apology for what happened yesterday."

Carver glared at Troy and he said, "I don't have time for this bullshit." He pulled out his revolver, and in a flash, he aimed it at Troy's head and fired. Troy's body fell to the ground with a thud while the group members in the yard shuttered from the sudden murder of the former guard.

Carver looked back to the group members and he said, "That's one way of getting out of this yard. You have to remember that I didn't put you all here. This was all your fault, but I am a decent man. Some of you are new to our community, others are people who went astray but know that you can find redemption here through what will be undoubtedly hard work and proving your worth." Carver directed his attention to Reggie and he said, "Reggie, you're nearly back with us. Keep following the path and we'll welcome you back with open arms."

"What about the other members of my group?" Luke asked. "Sarah and Alvin are still out there."

Carver shrugged and he said, "It ain't worth sending people out there to look for them. They're on their own."

"But that's my daughter out there!" Carlos exclaimed.

"Then start over if it bothers you so much… it's time for us to move on in this world. We can't sit around and mope on the past, we need to move forward." Carver said. "I ain't sending people out there to find some big guy who will only get in my way and a scared little girl who is absolutely useless."

Carlos gritted his teeth and glared at Carver. However, the leader ignored Carlos and he continued, "I'll let Reggie be an example for the rest of you. Tavia, George, and Tyler have your assignments for the day. Now… get to work." Carver turned and he headed back into the hardware store.

Tavia approached Clementine and she said, "Follow me. You'll be working in the armory with Bonnie."

Clementine nodded in response. She wasn't excited in working with Bonnie since the woman showed quite a bit of anger and malice towards her yesterday, but it wasn't anything new with Clementine. Besides, she didn't want to question Carver's authority after what happened to Troy.

Tavia turned and headed inside Howe's with Clementine following behind her. The two walked further and further into Howe's until Clementine's jaw dropped and her eyes widened. She was staring at a young woman and a fifteen year old girl. The fifteen year old girl was her former friend Becca and the woman was Shel. Becca looked over for a brief second, but her eyes widened and she looked back to Clementine. "Clementine, come on." Tavia said with an impatient tone in her voice.

Shel followed her sister's line of vision and her jaw dropped as well. "Clementine." Shel said with a surprised tone in her voice.

However, Becca's shocked stare turned into one of anger. She gritted her teeth and ran toward Clementine. The younger girl knew what awaited her. She flinched a bit and closed her eyes. She felt Becca's knuckle collide with her face which sent her to the ground. Clementine groaned in pain as she opened her eyes. Becca could still hit hard… even harder than what she remembered. Clementine looked up with a sore cheek and Becca seething in anger.

"Becca!" Shel exclaimed.

"You bitch! You left me!" Becca hissed at Clementine. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

… **To be continued.**

 **A/N: Ahh… yes… It's nice to do another cliffhanger. I'm going through cliffhanger withdrawal.**


	14. Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: I do not own** _ **The Walking Dead**_ **. All rights reserved to their respective owners.**

"Becca stop!" Shel exclaimed.

"Why should I?" Becca hissed. "She leaves without saying shit! I went out to look for her and nearly got killed!"

"That's enough!" Tavia snapped. "Becca, we've talked about this, but it seems you don't learn." Tavia looked over to Clementine and back to Becca who crossed her arms over her chest and had a glare aimed at Clementine. "Come on, you two are going to talk to Bill."

"No wait… I'll come with them." Shel said. "I know them."

"That might be a problem." Tavia said.

Shel crossed her arms over her chest and she sent a glare toward Tavia while Clementine got up from the ground. She was somewhat glad to see that Shel was starting to stand up for herself. She had no idea what happened to everyone else from the gas station. She didn't care about Clive and Joyce all that much, but she did care for the two sisters, Roman, Boyd, and Stephanie.

"Alright… fine…" Tavia said with a groan. "But I warned you. Bill is not going to take this lightly. Come on." Tavia led the three forward with Clementine following behind her. She knew that Becca was sending a death glare towards her. She knew that Becca was angry with her, but Clementine was glad that she was still alive.

* * *

Clementine and Becca sat in the chairs in front of Carver's desk as the older man looked to them with a disappointed frown. He had listened to the whole story of what happened between Becca and Clementine from Tavia. He turned to the guard and he said, "Wait outside for a couple of minutes. I'd like to talk to them."

Tavia nodded before she turned and walked out of Carver's office. It was quiet as the leader watched the guard leave. He kept looking over to the door to make sure that Tavia left the room. Shel stood behind Becca while Clementine soothed her sore cheek. She was thankful that Becca didn't knock any of her teeth out.

"Now… I do believe that there needs to be some explaining going on." Carver said to Becca. "I can't have you going around and beating up the new people."

"I don't care about the rest of them. It's just that… SHE left us." Becca said as she sent a glare toward Clementine.

"I did it for your own protection." Clementine said. "I HAD to leave."

"What are you talking about?" Becca asked with a confused stare; however, her anger was still present.

"I… I'm a death magnet. People die around me… I didn't want it happening to you too." Clementine said.

"Oh… sweetie… You're not a death magnet. People die almost all the time now. It's not just you." Shel said.

"Enough." Carver said. Shel, Becca, and Clementine looked over to him and he continued, "Bottom line, someone's going to have to face the consequences of what happened. We can't be soft in this community. Soft will only get us killed." Carver looked over to Becca and he said, "Becca, you'll be out in the yard for a month."

"But that's not fair!" Becca exclaimed.

"Want to make it two?" Carver asked. "I've warned you to back off a little, but it seems that I can't get my point across. So, until you learn, you're going to go through some consequences."

"Bill, please, this doesn't seem fair. She's just a kid… and she got excited." Shel said.

"That's no excuse for what happened. I told you that you need to get her to calm down and that she had only one more chance to clean up her act. So now, she's getting what she deserves." Carver said.

"This is so stupid! I went looking for her and nearly got killed for it, and somehow, she's in the right?" Becca exclaimed.

Carver leaned back in his chair unfazed and he said, "Who cares? I don't dwell on the past, and I don't suggest you do the same. Now, I believe you and Clementine have some work to do. Tavia will take you over to the green house while I talk to Shel."

Carver retrieved the radio on his desk and he said, "Alright, come back in and take Clementine and Becca to the green house. We'll start there."

"Yes sir." Tavia's voice was heard from the radio. A few minutes passed by until Clementine heard footsteps from behind. She didn't have to turn around to know that it was Tavia. Carver nodded to her and Becca in a gesture to leave. The two complied and they left the office with Tavia leading the way.

* * *

Neither talked to the other while Tavia led them to the roof. Clementine would caress her sore cheek every so often, while Becca would grumble to herself. Tavia pushed the door open and led the two to a small green house. "Alright. We're here." Tavia said. "Try not to get yourselves into any more trouble, got it?"

"Whatever." Becca muttered.

Tavia rolled her eyes before she opened the door to the green house. "Now don't touch anything. I'll be back." After the two girls entered, she slammed the door shut and her footsteps signaled her departure.

Becca leaned against one of the walls in the greenhouse and looked down with a glare. "I almost died because of you. I went out looking for you when we couldn't find you at the gas station. A walker nearly bit my face off."

"You would have died if I stayed and so would everyone else." Clementine said.

"Yeah, yeah… you're a death magnet… whatever." Becca said. "I don't think that you leaving really did matter…" Becca released a sigh and she let her arms droop to her side. Plus her hostility was replaced with remorse and sadness. "We lost Boyd a few months after you left." Clementine's eyes widened and she looked down with a frown. Boyd was the nicest person she was with at the gas station, and in many ways, he reminded her of Lee. "It wasn't… we were stupid. We let some piece of shit go, and he came back with a group. A couple of us were injured… but Boyd was… dead. A few weeks after, Roman… got really strict and shit… He… He caught Stephanie stealing some shit… I was pissed at the time… I wanted her to die for what she did, but… it's only now that I realized that she was only scared… I have to admit that looking back… I was scared too."

"We're all scared." Clementine said.

"I was scared. That doesn't mean I'm scared now." Becca snapped. "I'm not scared of anything now that Roman is dead."

"You're scared of losing your sister. You're scared of being alone." Clementine said.

Becca jumped upon hearing what Clementine said. She seemed like she wanted to argue, but all she did was grumble to herself. She looked to Clementine and she said, "What's with all that shit?"

"What? The clothes or-?" Clementine asked.

"No, I'm taking about the magical gnome behind you. Of course I'm talking about your clothes. Since when did you start wearing girly shit?" Becca said.

Clementine shrugged and she said, "A friend gave me these clothes. Besides, I'm more of a girly-girl than a tomboy."

"Could have fooled me." Becca said with a smirk. "You wrestled like a tomboy back at the gas station."

"Only because you dragged me into it." Clementine said with a bit of a smirk. "If I had it my way, I would read a book all day."

"Ugh… you remind me too much of Sarah. All she did all day was read f****** books and cry…" Becca whined.

"She could be stronger if her dad would let her grow up a bit." Clementine said.

Becca shrugged. She didn't care either way about Sarah. The door to the green house opened, and Reggie could be heard. "Okay, I get it." Reggie said.

"Don't make me regret this." Tavia said to the man. She turned to Clementine and Becca and she said, "Listen to Reggie. He's in charge."

"Yup, no problem, Tavia." Reggie said. Tavia closed the door to the green house.

"Okay, we got to do a good job, guys." Reggie explained. "The camp is counting on us. Come on, I'll show you what to do." Clementine and Becca followed Reggie with the older girl grumbling to herself. They approached a table and Reggie continued, "It's super easy. Pick up those shears." Clementine did as Reggie instructed but Becca just crossed her arms over her chest.

"Just get to the point and tell us what to do." Becca said in an irritated tone of voice.

"Okay, okay." Reggie said. "So we're picking these berries, right? Just pick them and put them in the basket. Simple. While you're at it if you see any dead branches, take those shears and cut them off and stack them neatly for compost."

"Finally… that's all we needed to know. Damn…" Becca said and she picked up her shear. She walked over to some of the plants while Reggie looked to her with a questioning stare.

"What's wrong with her?" Reggie asked.

Clementine shrugged and she said, "That's just how she is." She picked up her shear and she went over to some of the plants as well. She spent the next half hour picking berries and cutting off dead branches.

* * *

Clementine placed her shear on the table upon taking off the last dead branch on the plant. She heard a door close shut outside and she looked out. It was Carver. He was walking toward the green house.

"Oh shit." Reggie said. He looked around until his eyes stopped at Becca. "Hurry up! Bill's coming."

"I don't care." Becca said.

The door to the green house opened and Carver walked in. "Just checking in… wanted to see how the new recruits are working out." Carver said. He looked around the green house. He had a pleased smirk until he saw that there were two plants that were left unattended. "Reggie." Carver hissed.

"Yeah, Bill, what's up?" Reggie asked with a frightened tone in his voice.

"What the f*** happened in here?" Carver inquired.

"Look, Bill, one of them is new and me with my arm, it's just not as eas-I just hav-I have one arm so-" Reggie stuttered as he tried to explain the situation.

"Shut up, shut up." Carver snapped. "Shut the f*** up." Reggie looked down with a frown as the older man continued, "You better have a good explanation for this. And I mean now."

"Bill please just-" Reggie said.

"Sounds like you were about to give me an excuse when I asked for an explanation." Carver said.

Clementine and Becca stayed quiet while Reggie continued to stutter. It's not like they had a valid explanation. "Bill please, I… I just need a little more time."

No…" Carver said as he shook his head. "You're out of time." Carver looked to Becca and Clementine and he said, "Girls why don't you step outside. Reggie and I need to have a chat."

Clementine turned and walked to the door while Becca made sure to get to the door first and get out of the green house. "Thanks for the help girls." Reggie said. The door to the green house closed and the sound Carver's angered yells could be heard.

"About damn time we got out of there. F***** Reggie. The guy is a weak worm. He's completely spineless… and he expects that Bill will let him back in? Seriously?" Becca said.

Clementine looked back to the green house as the yelling intensified and then back to Becca. "What's Carver like?" Clementine asked.

Becca sighed and she said, "He's alright… once you get to know him. You just got to be careful when you're around him. He's always looking for a way to get around your defenses. He can also be scary sometimes." She sounded almost frightened by the older man.

"Are you scared of him?" Clementine asked.

"F*** no! I ain't falling for that shit." Becca said.

"Easy, it's just an honest question." Clementine said.

Becca eased in her stance and she sighed. "Sometimes… I am scared of him, but he protects us. All things considered, we're lucky to have him."

Suddenly, the door to the green house opened with Reggie stumbling out and Carver stomping after him. "I gave you plenty of chances!" Carver exclaimed.

"NO! NO! NO!" Reggie pleaded with Carver as the older man backed Reggie to the edge of the roof. "Bill, please no!" Carver grabbed Reggie by his shirt collar and sent a glare. He appeared furious. "NO! NO! PLEASE!" Reggie exclaimed. However, it didn't stop him. Carver pushed Reggie over the edge. Reggie screamed in horror until he landed on the ground below.

Clementine looked down to Reggie's body and saw an opportunity. She knew that the longer she stayed, the more likely Carver and his people would die. She didn't have much time to act on her plan. "Weakness, incompetence…" Carver said, but he stopped when Clementine jumped over the ledge. "Hey!" Carver exclaimed.

"Clem!" Becca said in a frustrated and irritated tone of voice.

Clementine descended down on top of Reggie's body. Her feet hit his stomach which acted as an airbag for her landing. If she landed anywhere else, she would have broken her legs and the walkers would have eaten her. Clementine rolled forward and weaved away from the walkers. It was time for her to leave. She would miss Gil, but she could take heart in knowing that he was safe.

"I need some guards outside the perimeter, now!" Carver's voice was heard.

Clementine had nothing to kill the walkers with so all she could do was weave around them and kick them to make them lose their balance. She was thankful that Christa had given her boots and not flats. Clementine smiled upon seeing that there was an opening ahead. All she had to do was slip underneath a walker and she could escape. However, she could hear gunshots from behind her. She turned and saw that Carver and his guards were trying to get to her. They killed any walkers that stood in their way. Clementine turned back around and she slid underneath the walker. While on the ground, she kicked the walker in the back of its legs so that it would lose its balance and fall to the ground.

Clementine got back up and darted for the forest while gunshots were heard behind her. She looked back to the Carver and his group. They were too preoccupied by the walkers to chase her, but there weren't many walkers left. She didn't have much time. Clementine looked forward again; however, she ended up colliding with a stray walker. She fell to the ground with a groan as the walker fell on top of her. She tried to push the walker away, but she wasn't nearly as strong in her arms as she was in her legs. She struggled to keep the walker away. Its gnashing teeth got closer and closer to her until finally it growled and was kicked off of her. She huffed as she watched Carver shoot the walker a couple of times in the head.

Carver huffed before he started to laugh. "You know… you're making this a lot of fun. The battle of wits… who knew I would be challenged by a child, but I guess anything is normal these days." Carver looked back to the guards that accompanied him outside.

"Sir?" Johnny asked.

Carver shook his head and he said, "I'll need a word with Clementine in my office, but nothing else needs to be done. Head back to your posts."

"Yes sir." Johnny said. The guards headed back toward Howe's while Carver offered his hand to help the girl up.

"Come on. We have a couple of things to discuss." Carver said.

"Okay." Clementine said. She accepted the help up and she headed back toward Howe's Hardware with Carver next to her. Her first attempt of escape has failed.

… **To be continued.**


	15. Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: I do not own** _ **The Walking Dead**_ **. All rights reserved to their respective owners.**

Carver sighed as he looked to the young girl in front of him. They were back in the office with Carver being behind the desk and Clementine sitting in one of the chairs in front of it. "You should have known better than to get away like that." Carver said.

"I had to test you." Clementine said. "I wanted to see how hard it was to escape and what measures you were willing to take to prevent me from leaving."

"And now you know." Carver said. He leaned forward in his chair and he asked, "When will you learn that I'm trying to build something here? I'm not the bad guy. In fact, all things considered, I'm the good guy. I've created safety, shelter, food, water, and electricity here."

"I know… that's why I have to leave. I needed to get away so nothing happens to you or your community." Clementine said.

Carver looked to Clementine with a perplexed stare but it soon turned into a look of realization. He scoffed and he said, "Oh… you're talking about being a death magnet thing again. Look kid, it's like that everywhere. Just because you think you're bad luck doesn't mean that everyone here will die."

Clementine looked down and shook her head. She didn't believe Carver and he didn't believe that she was a death magnet.

"Anyway… enough of that." Carver said. "I know that I should punish you for trying to escape… but once again… I have to steady my hand and actually commend you. Using Reggie's body as an airbag to soften your landing was quite smart. But you also made me call in my guards… So I guess that cancels everything out, but I will make sure to keep a closer eye on you in the future." Carver cleared his throat before he continued, "Now two more topics to address. I know you may think that I'm a monster for killing Reggie, but I can't tolerate weakness at the moment. With Troy's little f*** up at that ski lodge, I'm going to have to start paying more attention to the people in this community. I like Reggie, but he was weak in will and weak in character. We can't have that going around."

Clementine looked up and she asked, "But why did he have to die? He was still loyal to you."

Carver crossed his arms over his chest and he sat back in his chair. "I know… it's not like I wanted to kill him, but these are tough times. You let a weak person live, and that will only drain more of your resources. I did him a favor; I allowed him to repay the debt he owed me before I had to eliminate him. Besides, I can find stronger people to take over his shift… people who show promise… who show a future. Understand?"

"I… I guess so." Clementine said. However, she didn't really understand. She thought that killing another person was only necessary so that she could survive or to ease her conscience.

"Good." Carver said. "Last thing. You jumped down onto Reggie, but you must have realized that you were leaving your friend, Gil. Can you explain why you were so willing to do this?"

Clementine nodded and she said, "If I had gotten away, I know that I would have missed Gil, but at least he would have been safe in here."

"I see." Carver said as he placed a couple of fingers up to his chin. He hummed as he thought over the girl's response. "I do enjoy our little chats, but… I better let you go. There's enough time for you to do one more chore today. Johnny will take you to the armory. You'll work with Bonnie and Becca."

Clementine nodded and she got up from her seat. Carver grabbed his radio and he spoke into it. "Johnny, escort Clementine to the armory." Carver said.

"Yes sir." Johnny said.

Clementine looked to the doorway and waited for the guard to come get her. "I hope you have a good day now." Carver said as he sat back down in his seat. Clementine was about to respond, but she stopped when she heard footsteps approaching the door. She looked over to see Johnny. Clementine looked back to Carver before she looked back to Johnny and walked over to him.

Johnny turned and led the girl out of the office and across the hardware store. Clementine took a moment to think to herself. Even Carver doubted that she was a death magnet, and he was one of the smartest people she had ever met. He was brutal, but he wasn't like the bandits and scavengers that Clementine had encountered over the last two years. Maybe, she was wrong… There was a point… very recently where she questioned everything that she thought she knew. Questions kept going through her mind until Johnny said, "We're here."

Clementine shook her head out of her thoughts and she said, "Huh?"

"We're at the armory." Johnny said. He had a concerned look on his face and he asked, "You alright kid? You don't look good."

"I'm fine." Clementine said. It was a lie. She felt terrible. She couldn't stop thinking of Lee's dying words, what Gil had told her, and the joyful memories of being at the ski lodge.

"Okay…" Johnny said with a doubtful tone in his voice. He opened the door and gestured Clementine to enter.

The woman, Bonnie, looked up to the two with a magazine in her hand. Becca sat next to her; she looked over to Clementine with a glare. "Sorry that the kid is late. Bill wanted to talk to her." Johnny explained.

"That's fine. Come on over." Bonnie said as she gestured to the chair. Clementine walked over and sat down in the chair before the door closed shut. Bonnie sighed and she asked, "So what exactly did you do?"

"I don't want to talk about it." Clementine said before she grabbed an empty magazine from the table and started to fill it with bullets.

"What the hell were you thinking?" Becca exclaimed. "Do you even give a shit about me? We were good at some point. I thought it'd be us against the world. But all you want to do is leave."

Clementine looked to Becca and she said, "I told you already that I was doing that to protect you and your sister."

"Oh, f*** you! Enough of this death magnet bullshit! It's starting to piss me off!" Becca snapped as Clementine shuttered.

"Becca, come on now." Bonnie said. "Don't be like that."

"Why? She left me! I thought we were friends, but she ended up screwing me over." Becca said.

"Fine. Stay mad at me for all you want. I don't care anymore." Clementine said. She looked back down to her magazine and continued to fill it with bullets. She heard Becca grumble to herself, but the older girl didn't continue to argue.

"I guess I owe you an apology, Clementine. It's just… when I saw you shooting at the ski lodge, I thought you were trying to kill Bill… and I got too excited. I'm sorry that I… acted the way I did." Bonnie said.

Clementine looked up to Bonnie and she said, "I don't care. Two of my friends died, you treat me like crap afterwards... I don't care what you think."

"Hey! Come on now! I know I didn't respond well to the situation-" Bonnie said but she was interrupted by Becca.

"That's an understatement. Every situation you've been in has gotten someone killed… like Leland." Becca said.

Bonnie jumped from the girl's statement. She looked away for a moment before she said, "You know what… fine. You can play that card all you want… at the end of the day, at least I tried to make things better." She looked back to Clementine and she said, "I was just trying to be nice, but it seems no one in this world is nice anymore… not even some kid."

Clementine glared at Bonnie and slammed the magazine to the ground before she stood up. "Oh okay, you want me to be nice! Well, guess what? You need to give me a reason to be nice to you because so far that doesn't seem to be the case for you… or anyone in this shithole of a world. I saw my parents as walkers in a herd, my guardian died and it's all my f****** fault, almost all of my friends have died and the few that I have left are who-knows-where or are injured, and to top it all off, it seems that everything is my fault in this world! So, sorry if I don't seem that nice!" Clementine exclaimed.

Clementine huffed as tears started to form in her eyes. She had never had a meltdown like that before; even her temper tantrums as a baby were mild compared to what had happened. Bonnie stood up and ran out of the armory while Becca looked to Clementine with a frown and even… a sympathetic stare. Clementine looked away and she hugged her body.

"Hey, you alright?" Becca asked with a calmer tone of voice. There was a tang of sympathy and remorse in her voice.

"I just need some time… to breathe." Clementine said with a huff.

"Man… I never seen you like that before, and I never knew how much shit you went through… I'm sorry." Becca said.

Clementine tried to breathe in huffs, but she could tell that she was on the verge of tears. She almost wanted to cry. She soon felt a pair of arms around her and she heard Becca say, "It's alright to cry… I know that I cried like hell when my mom and dad died…"

Clementine finally allowed herself to drop her guard and she cried. She was surprised that Becca was so supportive of her since Becca was always as tough as nails; she would sooner make fun of someone than to show that person compassion. It was a comforting feeling to finally release her anger, resentment, and sadness in the form of crying and yelling at an unkind woman.

 **Hours Later**

Clementine sat next to Becca as they continued to eat their supper for the night. They were with the other members that were stuck in the yard. Clementine had learned that the lean African-American man was Mike. He saved Reggie's life. It was too bad that Reggie was going to die regardless. The lean man had a frown on his face. It was obvious that he had heard the news about Reggie. Clementine also learned that the woman with the short brown hair was known as Jane. She sat in a corner of the yard. It seemed that she wanted nothing to do with the group. The other members in the group included Luke, Carlos, Rebecca, and Gil.

"I can't believe that Reggie is gone." Rebecca said with a frown. "What is happening in our lives? Everyone I cared for is either gone or dead."

"I think I have an idea why." Luke said as he sent a glare towards Clementine.

"Oh f*** off, Luke." Becca snapped. "You know what… I'm glad Nick is dead. He just acted like a stupid hot-headed baby… He always whined when things didn't go his way."

"Hey, watch it. That's my best friend you're talking about." Luke snapped.

"I never liked you Becca. Your foul mouth and bad attitude was something that Sarah didn't need to be around. I'm sure your parents would be disappointed to see how you turned out." Carlos said.

Becca shuttered from the doctor's coldness and she muttered, "F*** you."

"Alright, alright… let's just cool it, guys. We're out here together on this… we can't turn on each other. The world is already tough enough without us taking cheap shots at one another." Mike said.

Clementine placed a supportive hand on Becca's shoulder, but the older girl shook it off. Becca didn't want to be comforted; she wanted to act tough.

"Hey Clem… I heard you got hit today. I guess it is true since I see the bruise on your cheek." Gil said.

"Yeah…" Clementine said as she caressed her cheek.

"I heard it was between you two." Luke said. Clementine looked over to see him staring at her and Becca. "I guess you got a family member of hers killed or a friend. You seem to excel at that."

Clementine looked up to Luke and gave him a glare. "Or she probably stole from her and her group." Carlos said as he crossed his arms over his chest.

Becca released a groan and she said, "All she did was run away. I was mad at her. What the f*** is wrong with you guys?"

"Don't pay much attention to them. They've been treating Clem like this from the very beginning." Gil said to Becca.

Clementine smiled. She was glad that she had friends that would support her. Oddly, it made her feel like she was back at the motor inn. She was around her own people. People who knew her and cared about her.

"We don't have to account for our actions. What we did was for the concern and safety of our loved ones. Something you three would never understand." Carlos spat.

"You know… I may have lost people that I loved, but it's better that they're dead and loved me than for them to be alive and hate me. That's why Sarah left you. She was afraid of you… and she wanted to leave." Clementine said.

Carlos's eyes widened and his fist balled up. "How dare you? How dare you speak about my daughter like that?"

"If you think I'm wrong, then tell me a valid explanation as to why she left with Alvin. She could have told you that she and Alvin were planning to leave, but she didn't, did she?" Clementine said.

Carlos's face was getting redder by the second. He seemed like he was going to argue, but nothing came out. Finally, the doctor stomped away and walked toward one of the plywood beds.

Luke looked to Carlos with a sympathetic stare before he looked to Clementine with a glare. "F****** bitch." Luke muttered as he got back up and walked away.

"Hey, come on guys. We need to work together to get out of this mess." Mike said.

"Why?" Becca asked. "Look, I know Bill can be a bit of an ass sometimes and he does have his moments, but this place is a lot better than almost everywhere else. I'm not taking my chances of going back out there and living off shit just so we can get lucky and find something. THIS is the best you're going to get."

"I don't believe that… I think we can get out of here and find some place better. We just need to make a plan." Mike said.

"Well count us out." Becca said.

"I don't know… this Carver guy is off his rocker by a little bit, but it's still worth trying out this place…" Gil said.

"Bill's changed since I've seen him… and so have I." Rebecca said. "So you can count me out. Alvin abandoned me… Now, I'm going to stay in here."

"You people are nuts." Mike said. He got up and left the fire pit.

"Well, I better get some shut-eye in. I'll be working hard tomorrow." Gil said.

"Need help?" Clementine asked.

"Nah. I can handle it." Gil said as he got up. A grunt escaped his lips as he stood up and limped over to the plywood beds.

Clementine looked back to Becca and she said, "Thanks for comforting me today. I know that you're not comfortable with that and I'm sorry that I put you through that."

"It's fine. You really needed it." Becca said as she placed a supportive arm around the girl. "Besides… gives me ammo for later." Becca said with her comforting tone of voice being replaced by a teasing tone.

"Thanks." Clementine said with a teasing tone of voice.

It was a touching day for Clementine. In one day, she had gotten her best friend back and she had released most of her anger, rage, and resentment. However, Clementine knew that it was just matter of time until the negativity that Luke, Carlos, and Bonnie gave off would reignite her anger and resentment. Plus, she needed to find Christa, Omid, and Genevieve. She would have to leave. She knew it would take a lot of work and time to accomplish this task, but she would succeed.

… **To be continued.**


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N: Well… this chapter is going to be different. I'll have to go into Gil's POV for a little bit. Also, the reason why it took so long to post this chapter along with the other chapters to my stories is because there's a bug in Doc Manager. I actually had to use the copy-paste method instead of the file uploader which is the method that I've always used to post a story. Hopefully, it'll get fixed.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own** ** _The Walking Dead_** **. All rights reserved to their respective owners.**

 **2 Weeks Later**

It had been a somewhat relaxing two weeks at Howe's. Clementine was hard at work doing her daily chores for the community along with Becca and Gil, but she was also planning to find a way to escape. She had thought over the many possibilities in her head, but she believed that her plan would succeed in getting them out. Still, she would have to talk to Becca and Gil first.

"Well, well, you three are doing a good job." Carver said. Clementine looked over to see him holding a baby in his arms. "I decided to take junior here out for a little stroll." Carver said as he gestured to the boy in his arms. Clementine knew that it was Rebecca's baby. Carver walked over and inspected each of their work. Meanwhile, the baby cooed and made baby noises which made Carver chuckle. The leader of the community had become more relaxed since the boy's birth.

"Well… I'd say this should suffice." Carver said. He cleared his throat and looked to the three children. "I'd say you three have earned your places in the community. If you can wait until morning, I'll let you back into the community. I got to make it official so that the guards don't make the mistake of putting you in the pin."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Becca muttered.

"I've been meaning to ask you. Did you and your people grab a tomahawk from the ski lodge?" Clementine asked Carver.

Carver looked up to Clementine with a smirk and he said, "As a matter of fact we did. Why do you ask? Was that yours?"

"Yup and I'd like it back." Clementine said while she returned the smirk. She hated to admit it, but Carver almost acted like her father with the way he teased her and would play a cat and mouse game with her. It was surprisingly fun for her. She always wondered why adults would talk so much. Maybe this was the reason why.

"Tell you what. If you continue being a good little girl, I'll give it back to you by the end of the week." Carver said.

Clementine shrugged and she said, "Deal."

"Good." Carver said. "Now… it's almost time for supper. One last night out there with those savages in the yard, and then you're inside this place… free to do whatever you want… well to a certain extent…" He gave them a gesture to move along to the yard. The three children obliged and started to walk away toward the yard.

"How's your leg, Gil?" Clementine asked.

"Getting better." Gil said. He was right. The eleven year old boy wasn't limping anymore. Plus, he wasn't grunting in pain when he walked.

"Can you believe that we'll be stuck out in the yard one more night?" Becca snapped while Clementine looked back to Carver. It appeared that he wasn't really paying attention to the three. He just continued to look over their work and looking to the baby in his arms.

She looked around more for any other guards, but they were scattered within the building. "I'm just glad that we're getting out of that yard." Gil said. "I can't stand Carlos or Luke anymore. They're really annoying."

Clementine huffed and she said, "Alright. I know how to get out of here now. It took a while but there's only one real way of escape. Gil, you're going to have to help Luke and his group escape, but what you're really going to do is gather up a pistol for each of us and some food. Next, we need to leave a note about Luke's escape plan for Carver."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa." Becca said. "What are you talking about? You're wanting to leave again?"

"Becca, you and Shel can come with us." Clementine said. "We want you to come with us."

"Clem's right." Gil said. "Carver's calmed down a bit, but we still need to get out of here and find our missing group."

Becca frowned and she said, "I can't come with you…" Clementine and Gil looked to Becca with a pair of frowns as they continued to walk to the yard. "Shel thinks this place will work out… I know she won't leave… and I can't leave her. She's all I got left."

Clementine sighed and she said, "I understand. I hope you stay safe while you're in here."

"Yeah… you stay safe while you're out there. I bet there's a lot of crazy shit out there." Becca said. The garage door that led to the yard was finally in sight. The three children approached it with silent and solemn looks on their faces. It would be the last day that they would be together. Tyler stood on watch in front of the door and he opened it for the three children. They would have to endure Luke's and Carlos's ridiculous antics for one more night.

 **2 Hours Later**

Clementine stayed close by as Gil walked over to Luke and his group; however, it wasn't much of a group. It only consisted of Luke, Carlos, Jane, and Mike. She could faintly hear their conversations. She had to listen in just in case her plan backfired.

"What do you want?" Luke snapped.

"I want to come with you." Gil said.

"Absolutely not. You'll only mess things up." Carlos said.

"Hey come on now… let's give the kid a chance." Mike said.

"I heard that Clementine tried to leave without me on the first day we started working here… so I'm really angry about that. I want to get back at her for trying to leave me by helping you guys and leaving her." Gil said.

There was a moment of silence amongst them which was followed by Luke saying, "Alright. Welcome to the group."

"I don't understand why you guys are so bent out of shape by some girl." Another voice said. This one was new… was it Jane?

"Because that girl got my best friend killed." Luke said.

"Plus, she stole from us and nearly killed my daughter." Carlos said.

"Alright… whatever." Jane said.

Clementine could hear footsteps coming towards her. She was nowhere near the wall that they had planned to use to escape. She looked over to see Luke and his group heading toward her. Something wasn't right. Clementine stood up and she asked, "What do you want?"

Luke didn't reply. Instead he punched her to the ground. Clementine groaned in pain as the man said, "Consider that a small act of retribution for getting Nick killed."

"We don't have time for this." Gil said. Clementine was surprised that he kept a straight face, but she was also happy. Her plan was still intact.

She got up from the punch as Carlos said, "Goodbye and good riddance. We'll never see each other again."

Clementine stood upright and she said, "Yeah goodbye. I always wondered what kind of people you were before all of this, but I guess it doesn't matter."

Luke scoffed before he turned around and headed to the wall with the other three group members joining him. Gil stayed behind for a moment, but he stayed in character in case Luke was listening in. "It's not too late. You sure you want to do this?" Gil asked. He was asking about her plan.

"I'm sure." Clementine said.

Gil nodded before he turned around. He walked over to join the group. All Clementine could do now was wait for him. Plus, she had to hope that he would fulfill everything that she had planned for. Although she thought over the plan for weeks, it still had little room for error.

 **Gil's POV**

"Alright… you're going to go in there, activate the speaker, play one of the CDs that are in there, and then jump down into the stock room to regroup with us." Mike explained. "The controls are in Bill's office."

"You think you can handle that?" Luke asked.

"Yeah." Gil said. Mike pulled down the rope that was a part of the winch. Gil had seen them use the winch before. It was used mostly to bring heavy bags of soil to the roof. The hook to the winch reached the ground and Gil placed his foot into the hook of the winch. Mike began to pull on the rope, and Gil started to ascend up to the roof.

"You better not backstab us or there will be serious consequences." Carlos said.

"That's right." Luke said.

Gil just ignored them and waited for Mike to get him high enough on the winch to reach the emergency escape ladder on the roof. Mike grunted a couple more times as Gil got closer and closer to the ladder. He jumped off the winch and grabbed onto the ladder once he was close enough to it. He then climbed it to the roof.

Once Gil reached the top, he noticed that there was only two guards on the roof and there was a good distance between them. Gil moved across the roof in a crouched position. He did his best to avoid detection as he got closer and closer to the skylight that led to Carver's office.

Gil looked over upon hearing one of the guards speak up. "This is Russell checking in. Area's clear."

"Copy that." Another guard's voice was heard from the radio.

Gil looked back to the skylight and saw that it was dark within the office. It was abandoned. Gil opened the skylight and jumped down on a set of lockers. From there, he jumped down onto the ground.

He walked out of the room and went to the armory first. There, he grabbed a couple of handguns and some ammo. Plus, he grabbed his and Clementine's backpack. The people within the community must have been too lazy to take the backpacks somewhere else. He also picked up Clementine's tomahawk. He knew that she would want it back since it had proven to be a useful tool and weapon in her hands.

He crept out of the armory and went to the shelves of food next. He grabbed a few canned goods and went up to the office.

He walked up to the PA system and started to turn on the speakers. Next, he turned up the volume. It was set to play within the community rather than outside as Luke and his group had intended. Gil turned to the CD player and opened it. It was empty, but it didn't take him long to find one of the CDs. He placed the CD in the tray and pressed play.

Suddenly, the radio within the hardware store came to life with a woman's voice explaining shopper deals. Gil had to act fast. He noticed that Bonnie was running toward the pin. She must have been the other half of Luke's escape plan.

Gil pulled out the letter that was addressed to Carver. It was Luke's plan which was written down by Clementine. He ran over and started to climb up on top of the lockers in an attempt to reach to roof. He was almost to the skylight when he heard the door open. He was out of sight, but he could see that the person who entered was Carver.

He needed to move. He opened the skylight and got back onto the roof. He could see the retreating forms of the two guards on the roof. They were heading back inside. Gil ran over to the yard and saw that Luke and his group had left. It was just Becca and Clementine in the yard.

 **Clementine's POV**

"Perfect, Gil. It worked." Clementine said.

"So, I guess this is it." Becca said. "I'm not that good at saying goodbye."

"Me neither." Clementine said as she turned to the older girl. The two sighed before they hugged each other.

"Good luck." Becca said.

"Thanks." Clementine said. They separated and Clementine ran over to Gil.

Gil grabbed onto the rope of the winch and adjusted it to where he could pull Clementine up. It was a struggle, but he managed to pull the girl up slowly. He huffed as he continued to pull her up onto the roof. All Gil would have to do was get her close enough to the emergency escape ladder. From there, they were free. Gil finally managed to do so and Clementine jumped onto the ladder. She climbed up to the roof and grabbed her backpack.

"Good job." Clementine said. "You've gotten stronger."

"Thanks…" Gil said with a huff. "We need… to get out of here."

Clementine nodded and the two went across the roof. They used the scaffolding in the expansion to climb down gradually and reach the ground below. Once on the ground, they darted for the surrounding forest. Clementine looked back to Howe's one last time. She knew that she would miss it, but she also knew that she would have to find Christa, Omid, and the others.

"Hey, you alright?" Gil asked.

"Yeah…" Clementine said. "I think I now know what's going on with my life. I guess I'm not a death magnet; I just didn't think of all of the flaws in my plans."

"Clem, people will die no matter what you do. You can't change that." Gil said.

"I know… at least… I know that now." Clementine said. She looked to Gil and she said, "Thank you… You saved my life more times than I can count. No matter what happens from here on out, I'm thankful that you were there for me."

Gil smiled and he said, "You saved my life many times as well. Come on… we're free. First thing we need to do is find our friends." He had his hand out in a gesture for her to grab it.

Clementine nodded and she took his hand. Together, they ran through the forest. They were tired, but they were happy. They were free from the community, and with a little luck, they would find Christa, Omid, Genevieve, Alvin, Sarah, and Sarita.

 **The end**

 **A/N: Well… interesting little story…**


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N: Alright… jokes over. I wanted to mess with you guys a little bit. Anyway, some of you may have caught a couple of hints. For instance, 'The end' should have been in all caps. Plus my trademark, 'Q out!' was missing at the end. Anyway… on with the story**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own** _ **The Walking Dead**_ **. All rights reserved to their respective owners.**

Gil and Clementine ran through the forest until they finally stopped to catch their breath. They were relieved to know that they were away from the community, but they had a big problem. They were out in the middle of nowhere with limited supplies and little light. "Okay… happen to have any ideas?" Gil asked.

"Yeah… I think so…" Clementine said as she walked up to a sign. The sign read that Parker's Run was a couple of miles from where they were at. "Parker's Run is a Civil War site. Almost every Civil War site has a gift shop nearby which will provide plenty of shelter for us. We can live out of the gift shop for the next couple of days so we can come up with another plan and try to find Christa, Omid, and the others."

"How do you know all of this?" Gil asked.

"My guardian liked anything that was from the Civil War." Clementine said with a bit of a frown forming on her face.

"Lee…" Gil said. Clementine shuttered from the name and nodded her head. "Omid talked about him… He sounded like a good man. I wish I could have met him."

"Yeah…" Clementine said. "Come on… we got a long night ahead of us." She walked forward with Gil following behind. Gil wanted to talk to her about Lee, but he knew that they weren't safe in the forest. There were too many dark corners where a dormant walker could be. They would have to stay as quiet as possible to get out of the forest. However, it became apparent very soon that stealth wouldn't work either. The forest was filled with walkers, and they easily picked up on the children's human scent.

Clementine and Gil started to walk faster and faster as more and more walkers kept stumbling out of the forest. This wasn't working. By the sounds of it, there were more walkers up ahead. They were being surrounded. "This isn't working." Gil said.

"Quick… follow me." Clementine said and she ran for an opening that was slowly closing because of the walkers. Gil ran after her and the two escaped the crowd of walkers. Clementine looked back to see that Gil was still able to keep up. However, she also saw that the walkers were still behind them. They hadn't decayed enough to where the two children could lose them. Clementine looked ahead and she was surprised to see a fence. "Come on. We're going to take shelter over here." Clementine said. She ran out into the opening where a fortified fence stood. She looked around for an opening and eventually found one.

"Hurry Clem…" Gil said as the walkers stumbled out of the forest.

Clementine slipped through the hole in the fence. She looked back to Gil and she said, "Gil, I'm right here. There's an opening."

Gil looked to Clementine and the opening, and he slipped through it as well. Clementine and Gil backed away from the opening as the walkers tried to get inside. They only had a few minutes to move; the fence wouldn't hold forever. They ran further into a trailer park, but to their dismay, they could see several walkers inside. Clementine pulled out her tomahawk and slammed it into an approaching walker's skull while Gil weaved away from another approaching walker's grip. He stabbed the walker in the knee which forced it to the ground. Clementine retrieved her tomahawk and killed the walker that Gil stabbed. She pulled the tomahawk out and looked to Gil. "You okay?" Clementine asked.

"Yeah… I'm alright… We need a plan… we can't fight all of them." Gil said as he and the girl backed away from more approaching corpses.

Clementine looked around the trailer park as the morning sun started to rise. She looked over to see that one of the trailers was near the fence. If they could get inside the trailer, they could find a way to get to the roof and jump down into the surrounding forest. "That trailer over there… that's where we need to go." Clementine said as she extended her arm out and pointed to the trailer.

"The one that's next to the fence?" Gil asked.

"Yeah." Clementine said. "Come on." The trailer appeared to be accessible through another trailer since there was a wall of furniture blocking their path to the trailer. Clementine and Gil ran inside the trailer that was used as part of the wall, but they were cut off by a walker. Clementine slashed at the walker's leg with her tomahawk and Gil stabbed the walker in the head to finish it off. They ripped their weapons from the walker's body and continued out of the trailer that they were in.

Once outside, the two children ran up to the door of the trailer and opened it. It looked like it was abandoned despite being in the middle of a herd of walkers. They ran inside the trailer without any further delay. Clementine slammed the door shut before she ran over and helped Gil move a shelf in front of the door.

Both children huffed to catch their breath again. They had been running from and fighting off the dead for the last several minutes. They were exhausted, but they knew that they needed to come up with a new strategy. The trailer wouldn't hold forever. Plus, they still had to worry about Carver looking for them.

"Well… I'm out of ideas." Gil said.

Clementine stood upright and took normal huffs. "We need to find a way to get onto the roof. From there we can jump over to the fence." Clementine said.

"Okay… we'll look around." Gil said. He walked off to one of the rooms while Clementine backed away from the door. She could hear the moans of the walkers getting louder. She and Gil didn't have much time. They needed to find a way to get onto the roof and quickly. She ran from the door and hoped that she and Gil could get on top of the roof.

* * *

Clementine and Gil ran into the last room within the trailer as the thuds from outside intensified. Plus, the trailer started to groan. The walkers were going to tear the trailer apart. Clementine looked around until Gil said, "I found a desk."

Clementine looked over to see him in front of a desk; it was almost the same size as the desk that she used in school. "Good… now we need roof access." Clementine said. She looked to the ceiling, and to her surprise, she found a skylight. "Perfect… finally." Clementine said. She ran over and helped Gil place the desk underneath the skylight. "I'll get up on the roof and help you up." Clementine said to Gil.

"Got it." Gil said with a nod. He got onto the desk and cupped his hands. Clementine followed and placed one of her feet into his cupped hands. He huffed as he stood up and helped the girl to the skylight. Clementine pushed the screen door back and struggled to get onto the roof. Most of her strength came from her legs, and she couldn't use them to bring her up to the skylight. However, she did feel Gil's hands underneath her feet; it was enough to help her get on top of the trailer. She turned around and offered her hand out to Gil. There was a loud crash within the trailer as Gil jumped up to grab Clementine's hand, but he missed. His height was working against him.

"Come on… hurry!" Clementine said as she tried to extend her hand more downward. Gil grunted as he jumped up again. However, they only touched hands; they weren't able to grab each other's hands.

"Clem… I don't think this is going to work." Gil said as he looked back to the door.

"Yes, it will! You have to trust me!" Clementine said. "One more time." Gil sighed and he looked up. Clementine reached as far down as she could. With one last jump, Gil sprung up and grabbed onto Clementine's hand. "I got you." Clementine said as she pulled Gil up to the roof. There was a loud crash in the room below them as Clementine finally brought Gil up to the roof. She looked down into the room and saw several walkers stumbling inside. It was a close call, but they had made it out.

"Come on… We need to get off this trailer before it collapses." Gil said as he offered his hand out to help Clementine up. Clementine smiled and she grabbed his hand. He helped her to her feet, and they looked over to the fence.

They jumped down from the roof of the trailer and onto the metal wire fence. It was better to gradually climb down from the fence to the ground to avoid getting hurt. Once they reached the ground, Clementine and Gil walked further into the forest to find the trail to Parker's Run.

* * *

It didn't take long for either to find the road that would lead them to Parker's Run. Both children were exhausted. They had gone a whole night without sleep. It was something that Clementine hadn't done for a while and her body was reacting badly to it. Gil, on the other hand, rarely had to stay up a whole night, so he wasn't doing well either.

"We need to find some place and get some sleep… I feel like I'm going to faint any minute now." Gil said.

"I know…" Clementine said. "… but we have to find some place safe." They kept dragging their exhausted bodies further and further until they could see a stone monument in the distance. "Finally… that's Parker's Run." Clementine said with a tired smile.

They walked over to the monument and immediately went to the tourist information. Clementine would have to come back to observe the monument later, but now, shelter was more important. "Okay…" Clementine said as she looked over the map. "According to the map, there's an observation deck near the river; it has the gift shop. Come on… we're almost there." She walked away from the map and headed toward a maze-like structure; it was also part of the monument. Gil walked alongside her.

"Thanks for getting me out of that trailer…" Gil said. "You never gave up on me… even when I did."

"I wasn't going to let you die in there… besides… I would have joined you if it didn't work out." Clementine said.

"What? No… you shouldn't do that." Gil said with a surprised but tired expression on his face.

"I'm not going to let you die alone… especially… especially when I love you…" Clementine said. Her cheeks started to flush a little.

"Wait… Clem…" Gil said.

Clementine stopped and took Gil's hands. "Gil… you're one of the best people in my life right now." Clementine said with a smile. "I want to spend the rest of my life with you… no matter how short it is. I love you. You did so much for me without expecting anything in return."

"I did that because you saved my life… and I have to admit… you do look pretty…" Gil said with a blush.

"See… it's not that hard to admit it." Clementine said before she kissed the boy's cheek. His blush became redder as Clementine backed away. "Anyway… let's um… keep going. The observation deck isn't far from here. We both need some rest."

"Right… yeah." Gil said and he joined the girl.

The observation deck was finally in sight. Gil and Clementine continued to walk toward it. It was one of the longest walks that either had experienced. Both were running on fumes. They climbed up the stairs and reached the top of the observation deck. However, the shutter door that led to the gift shop was locked with a pad lock.

"Okay… I… I have some lock-picking experience." Clementine said as she took her boot off and took a pocket knife from it. She took out the nail file and tried to unlock the pad lock.

"You had a pocket knife strapped inside your boot this whole time?" Gil asked with a questioning stare.

"Yup." Clementine said. "Don't worry. It doesn't hurt having it in my boot." She continued to try to pick the lock while Gil stood by and looked around the area. There were no walkers coming towards the observation deck. He turned his attention to a gate and another set of stairs. He walked over to make sure that the gate wouldn't open so easily. It was unlock, but it was also sturdy.

Clementine fiddled with the lock a little more before it clicked and opened. "Bingo…" Clementine said before a yawn escaped her lips. She picked up the lock and went to the shutter door that she and Gil used to the get onto the observation deck. Clementine pulled the door down with the help of her tomahawk; the weapon helped extend her reach so she pull it down. Once the shutter door was down, she pulled out the lock and placed it on the door; however, she didn't lock it.

"What are you doing that for?" Gil asked.

"This is so we only have to worry about one entrance and exit that people will use to attack us. The only way someone will get up here is through the gate over there." Clementine said as she gestured to the gate that Gil had checked.

"What if we're attacked? We'll only have one way to escape." Gil said.

Clementine shook her head and she said, "We have two ways to escape. I didn't lock that door; I just put the lock on so that if someone tries attack us by using that stairway, they won't be able to open the door."

"Clever… but I think it's time for us to sleep." Gil said with a yawn escaping his lips.

"Agreed." Clementine said. Gil walked over and opened the shutter door to the gift shop. He opened it enough to where he and Clementine could walk inside. The gift shop was barren. It didn't even look like a gift shop anymore. They entered the deserted gift shop, and Gil closed the door enough to where there was still a crack to the outside.

For the first time in days, the children could relax in a room. They were away from the elements and dangerous survivors. Clementine walked over and laid down on the floor. She was joined by Gil. Clementine remembered when they were on their own that one of them would have to take watch, but they couldn't take turns in keeping watch now. Both were too exhausted to do that. In fact, in a matter of seconds upon laying down, both children were asleep.

 **24 Hours Later**

Clementine sat upright and yawned. She felt like it had been hours since she fell asleep. She looked over to the shutter door and she was surprised to see that there was still daylight outside. Gil got up next and he said, "Wow… I feel better."

"Gil… there's still daylight out there." Clementine said.

Gil looked over to the shutter door and his eyes widened. "Man… Is… Is it possible that we slept a whole twenty-four hours? I don't feel tired anymore… I think…?"

"That might be the case." Clementine said.

"Wow… that's not healthy." Gil said. "Talk about sleeping your life away."

"Well… we kind of needed it. We went without sleep for a long time." Clementine said.

"True…" Gil said. He got up and stretched. "Well… let's have breakfast." He walked over to the shutter door and opened it up.

"You read my mind." Clementine said and she got up. She stretched a little before she followed Gil. She did remember everything that was mentioned yesterday. It wasn't just tiredness that made her confess her love for the boy. She really meant it. She loved him so much.

… **To be continued.**


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N: Well… I got to level with you guys. The next chapter might be the last for a little while. Unless Season 3 offers new ideas, I don't know how long this fic will go. So after the next chapter, this fic will go into a temporary hiatus.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own** _ **The Walking Dead**_ **. All rights reserved to their respective owners.**

Clementine and Gil sat around the fire as they enjoyed their breakfast which consisted of fish that they had caught in the river. It was fortunate that Gil had learned how to fish from his deceased father. Clementine bit into the cooked fish. It was surprisingly flavorful. She never thought that she would like fish so much especially when her mother and father hated fish. "This is really good." Clementine said.

Gil chuckled and he asked, "Did you ever have fish before?"

Clementine shook her head and she said, "No… My parents didn't like fish."

"Well to be honest, I didn't like fish all that much when I was growing up. I guess it's been a long time since either of us have had a fresh meal. We've probably been eating stale food for the last six months."

"You got a point." Clementine said and she continued to eat her fish.

Gil also continued to eat, but he seemed somewhat preoccupied like he was thinking about something. "Is everything alright?" Clementine asked.

"Um… yeah… kind of… It's just… what you said yesterday? Did you really mean it or were you just exhausted?" Gil asked. "I just want to make sure."

"Of course I meant it. I love you, Gil." Clementine said.

"Well I… um… thank you." Gil said with a blush forming on his face. "I won't lie… I haven't been in a really good place since my mom and dad died."

Clementine looked up and she said, "I'm sorry that you lost them… I never told you that when we met… I was too cold at the time."

"I appreciate it, but… I just… I just did what they would have done in that situation. I know they would have tried to help you… so that's what I did." Gil said.

Clementine smiled before she leaned in and kissed Gil on the cheek. She sat back down and she said, "Well, I appreciate it."

"I'm glad I was there for you. You're a wonderful person to be around…" Gil said.

"Yeah… I think you're really sweet, Gil." Clementine said.

"Thanks…" Gil said. The two looked to each other for a few seconds before they continued to eat the fish. It was quiet between them, but it was a comfortable silence. They wanted to talk about their previous lives, but both were unable to do so because they would remember the loved ones they lost. They instead finished their breakfast and cleaned up the surrounding area to give off the appearance that it was abandoned.

 **Hours Later**

Clementine and Gil walked up the stairs to the observation deck as the evening sun sunk lower into the sky. Both children had completed a fun day of looking through the exhibits of the museum, but they also had to go through the tedious task of checking the area for supplies.

"Well… that was fun… but I guess it wasn't very practical." Clementine said. "We didn't exactly find much."

"Hey come on… We had a fun day. We need to have one of those every once in a while." Gil said.

"Yeah… I guess you're right… We do need to act like kids every once in a while." Clementine said.

They reached the top of the observation deck and sat down next to each other. "I don't know if this is a long shot, but… maybe we can settle down somewhere and wait out winter before we head up to Wellington." Gil said.

"Yeah… you might be right." Clementine said. "Plus, we have limited supplies. We should try to find Christa, Omid, and the others, but we should also find some shelter and gather up some supplies."

"Agreed." Gil said. "So… what do we do for the rest of the night?"

"Hmm… well… they're not very appropriate, but I do have a deck of cards from the museum." Clementine said as she took out a deck of cards from her backpack.

"Why would you say that they aren't appropriate? That's actually the perfect way to finish the day." Gil said.

Clementine showed the back of the cards and she said, "They have the confederate flag on the back."

"Oh… well… it doesn't matter." Gil said. "I mean… yeah… that was probably one of the worst things that America ever did, but… it was a long time ago. As humans, most of us have learned from that terrible experience and now we try to treat each other as equals. That's what matters, right?"

"Yeah… you're right… I just don't want to offend you or anything…" Clementine said.

"I think we're all good, Clem. You and I understand this stuff… There's no need to be so cautious." Gil said.

Clementine smiled and she said, "Alright… well, the game is rummy. You ready to lose?" She wore a teasing smirk at the end of the sentence.

"Lose? I always win." Gil said as he returned the smirk. Clementine giggled as she shuffled the deck. The setting sun dipped lower and lower into the sky as the two children played several card games. It was a blast for them. Hours almost felt like minutes for them. They finished their last hand and they put the cards away.

"Man… I haven't had that much fun for such a long time." Gil said.

"I know… thanks for today… you made it really wonderful." Clementine said. She walked up to the boy and they locked lips, but it was only for a couple of seconds. "Umm… okay… were we supposed to feel something? I think we may have done it wrong."

"I don't know… maybe. Is… Is it me?" Gil asked with a frown.

"No… of course not!" Clementine said as she raised her arms. "I just… maybe we haven't matured enough..."

"Yeah… I guess you do have a point." Gil said. "Anyway… we better get some sleep. I'd imagine we have to get back on track tomorrow and try to find the others."

Clementine looked down and she said, "Yeah… I'm sorry, Gil. I wish we could always just… play like kids, but…"

"Hey, don't worry about it. I'm just happy to be with you." Gil said as he placed a supportive hand on her shoulder.

Clementine looked up to him and smiled. "Thanks Gil… I love you."

"I love you too." Gil said. The two children entered the gift shop for one more night of sleep. Like last time, Gil pulled the shutter door down. Laying on the stiff, wooden floor wasn't healthy for either of them, but it was better than being out in the woods and staying awake half the night. Both children laid next to each other, but they were closer this time. They looked into each other's eyes as they started to relax.

"Good night." Gil said.

"Good night." Clementine said.

Their breathing slowed as they became mesmerized by each other's eyes. Finally, their eyes closed shut and they went to sleep.

 **Hours Later**

Clementine placed her backpack on as Gil filled his back up. They had just finished their fish breakfast and were getting ready to head out again. "Okay… looks like we have everything. Hopefully, they'll be sticking around the ski lodge…" Gil said.

"They have to be around that ski lodge. Genevieve isn't old enough to endure the elements for long periods of time. Besides, Christa's a smart woman. She knows that there's a better chance of us finding them if they stay put rather than going elsewhere."

"Yeah… you're right." Gil said. However, both children were interrupted when they heard a metal squeak from behind Clementine. Gil's eyes widened and he stood upright. However, a gunshot stopped him completely.

Clementine didn't dare turn around. She was worried that she would get shot at, but how could someone show up out of nowhere. She heard a foreign language that didn't sound very familiar. However, it was followed by a rough English translation. It came from the same voice; it sounded like a teenager. "Don't move. You give me all your things and no one get hurt." The teenager said.

"How… How did you get up here without us noticing?" Clementine asked.

There was a long pause before the teenager answered. "I come here yesterday and saw you two up on here. I waited to get up here and hid."

"You don't have to do this." Gil said.

"Shut up… You people are all the same! You take and take and take until there is nothing left! Then you demand more! And if we don't have anything else… you kill… Now, it's my turn to take from you!" The teenager's voice was getting progressively louder and angrier; there was also hurt in his voice. Clementine could feel the barrel of his gun nudging her head. He was aiming his gun at her. He was going to kill her. Apparently, the teenager must have had to deal with bandits, and now he was going to kill Clementine for their actions

Suddenly, she heard a loud yell which was accompanied by gurgling. She looked over to Gil and saw that he was okay. She turned around and saw the teenager gurgling and squirming in pain as a figure picked him up from behind with an oddly familiar weapon. Even the figure seemed familiar. The figure ripped the weapon out of the teenager's body and allowed him to fall onto the ground. The teenager was dead.

Gil pulled out his gun and aimed it at the figure, but Clementine stopped him. The figure looked to the two children with a concerned stare and she asked, "You two alright? That was a…" The woman stopped when she locked eyes with Clementine. The child knew who she was. She seemed a little different since she had seen her. Her hair was the same length, but her clothing had changed. She wore a black hooded sweatshirt, a pair of blue jeans, and a pair of black shoes.

"Molly…" Clementine said with a surprised but happy tone in her voice.

"Clem… is that you?" Molly said. She was very shocked to see the girl.

Clementine was equally shocked to see Molly. She hadn't seen her since she went to Crawford with Lee… Clementine ran up to Molly and hugged the woman. It had been so long since she had seen Molly. Plus, Clementine secretly admired Molly. When she was out on her own, Clementine would always ask what Lee and Molly would do. Molly was strong and independent, but she also had her morals right. She did minor swearing in front of Clementine for the short period of time that she was with the group, but she saved her, Lee's, and Kenny's life down at the bay in Savannah.

"My gosh… it is you…" Molly said with a surprised tone in her voice.

They separated from the hug and Clementine smiled at her. "I missed you." Clementine said. However, Clementine noticed something when she was hugging Molly. Molly was in her early stages of pregnancy. She had hugged Christa before Genevieve was born and she noticed that her bulging stomach was hard. Molly was the same way.

"I missed you too kid… Man… how long has it been? You've grown up so much… it's amazing." Molly said with a smile.

Clementine smiled and she said, "Yeah… once again… thanks for saving my life."

"Yeah… any time… Good thing I was heading this way." Molly said. "…This one guy that I have been with for a while and I decided to split up and scavenge the area. He decided to check the museum while I went to investigate the observation deck. Heck… how about you guys tag along with us for a little while?"

"That sounds like a good idea." Gil said.

"Yeah… it really does… but… we're trying to find our friends out here." Clementine said. "Christa and Omid… do you remember them?"

Molly scoffed and she said, "Yeah… I remember them. So they're still alive?"

"Yeah… they also had their baby. They had a daughter named Genevieve." Clementine explained.

"We're also looking for three others." Gil said. "Their names are Sarita, Alvin, and Sarah."

Molly hummed to herself and she said, "I'm afraid I don't recognize any of those names. But… still… I don't want to leave you guys out here on your own… You should come with me and… my friend."

"Okay, that sounds like a good idea." Gil said.

"Yeah, let's stay together for a little while." Clementine said.

"Glad to hear it." Molly said. She crouched down and picked up the revolver that the teenager had threatened Clementine and Gil with before she started to walk down from the observation deck. Once they were at ground level the three walked through the maze-like structure to get to Parker's Run. "So… are you two like a couple or something?" Molly asked with a teasing smirk.

"Um… kind of… we just started dating." Clementine said.

"Clem saved my life and she's been teaching me how to defend myself." Gil said. "We've gotten closer recently…"

"Don't forget that you saved my life too." Clementine said.

"So wait… what about Christa and Omid? They've been looking after you this whole time, right?" Molly asked

Clementine shook her head and she said, "After I got out of Savannah, I… I got really dark. I was on my own, and… I just adapted to how things were. I couldn't stay as the defenseless child anymore."

Molly wore a frown and she sighed. "I'm sorry… I should have stayed with you guys… Maybe then… none of this would have happened."

"It's not your fault… some guy tricked Clementine and got most of the group killed." Gil said.

Clementine sighed and she said, "For the longest time… I blamed myself… I still kind of blame myself. I was selfish. I wanted my parents back when I should have been happy to just have Lee."

"Hush now… I don't want to hear you talk like that." Molly said in a scolding tone of voice. She changed her tone to sound sympathetic and she said, "Clem… you were only eight when all that happened… of course you wanted to see your parents… Some asshole used you to destroy the group for whatever reason…" Molly placed her head in the palm of her hand and she said, "Sorry… I'm still trying to clean up my mouth… I'm actually expecting."

"Really? Well… congrats." Gil said with a smirk.

"Yeah… I noticed that you had a baby bump when I hugged you." Clementine said. "Congratulations… I'm sure you'll be an amazing mom."

"Thanks Clem… but back to what I said earlier… Lee… he would have freely given up his life to save yours." Molly said.

"And that's exactly what happened. I still feel kind of bad when I think about it… but Gil has helped me to move on." Clementine said.

"Well… that's good." Molly said. She looked to Gil and she said, "Thanks for getting her out of that way of thinking… If I'm being honest… I had the same feelings when my sister died"

Minutes passed by as the three continued through the maze-like structure. Molly seemed almost distant as they neared the end of the maze. It would lead them to the monument. "Clem… I haven't been fully honest with you, the guy that's with me… he's someone from your past…" Molly said.

… **To be continued.**

 **A/N: Haha… cliffhanger. I wonder who will be the person from Clementine's past.**


	19. Chapter 19

**Disclaimer: I do not own** _ **The Walking Dead**_ **. All rights reserved to their respective owners.**

"Wha-What?" Clementine asked with a surprised look on her face. They had stopped at the entrance of the maze-like structure. "Who… Who is it? Is it Kenny?"

Molly shook her head and she said, "You wouldn't believe me if I told you. That's why I need to show you this person. Just keep in mind that… he's changed since you've seen him… just like I've changed."

Clementine nodded and she said, "Okay…" She had no idea who Molly was referring to. Part of her hoped that it was Lee, but she knew that he was gone. It might have been Chuck since she had no idea what happened to the older man. It could also be Roman since she and Becca had no idea what happened to him.

Molly led Clementine and Gil toward the direction of the museum; however, Clementine's nerves were starting to become nervous and excited which combined to make an unpleasant feeling. Something in her gut didn't feel right.

"I… I can't do this." Clementine said as she came to a stop.

"What's wrong, Clem?" Molly asked.

"I don't feel good about this." Clementine said. "Thank you for trying to help me, but I don't want this." She turned and tried to walk away.

However, Molly stopped her. "Hey come on now… I can't say that I know what you're going through, but… you got to give him a chance."

"Hey Molly… What's going on?" A familiar voice was heard. Clementine felt her heart drop. It couldn't have been him… She turned around to see an African-American man standing in front of Molly. He… He looked almost the same with a few patches of grey hair in his beard. He wore a red sweatshirt with a white collared shirt underneath, a black leather jacket, a pair of blue jeans, and a pair of black shoes. He wore an adult-size backpack with a dark blue sleeping back on top of it. One of his arms was replaced with a prosthetic. His eyes widened and he said, "Clementine…" He recognized her immediately. It was Lee, but she knew he was dead.

The girl's eyes were also wide. "No…" Clementine said as she shook her head. "No… you're not real…"

"Honey… I am… It's me, Lee." Lee said.

"No…" Clementine said as she started to back away. "I got you killed… You're not real."

Lee showed a hurt face and he said, "Sweet pea, that wasn't your fault… what happened in Savannah… none of that is on you… Please… come here." He had his arms out in a gesture for her to hug him and a welcoming smile.

Clementine whimpered and she shook her head. "No… I can't…" She said before she turned and ran back to the observation deck.

"Clementine! Come back!" Lee exclaimed. He gave chase, but he was unable to catch up to her. However, he was able to keep her in sight. He would just have to wait for her to think that he was no longer behind her.

* * *

Clementine continued to cry as she stayed near the river. She didn't know what to do. Was it all really hallucinations, but why did he look so different? Shouldn't he also be mad at her? Nothing was making sense. Clementine was so lost in thought that she didn't realize that someone had sat down next to her.

She jumped when she felt an arm around her shoulders. "It's alright, sweet pea. I know this is a lot to take in, but I'm real. I'm sorry that it took me so long to find you. Truth is… I thought you were dead. I thought I was too late."

"I… I don't know if you're real." Clementine said.

"Okay… fair enough." Lee said. He hummed to himself before he continued, "Back at the motor inn, you and Duck used to prank one another, you also liked to draw, you would talk into your radio and pretend to talk to your parents which brought you comfort, and you like apples and ice cream sundaes."

Clementine's eyes widened and she looked to the man. There was no way that anyone could have guessed all that without missing a beat or making a mistake. There was only one person who knew all that. That person was… No, that person is Lee. He really was right in front of her. He was alive.

"I… I…." Clementine said as she started to tear up. She was crying again. She tried to hold back the tears, but it was no use.

Lee hugged her and he said, "It's alright, sweet pea. I'm here now… Just let it all out." Clementine did exactly that. All the pain, sadness, and anger that she put herself through came out in the form of crying. She criticized herself for what happened in Savannah; she always felt guilty that the group got torn apart and she was left on her own which was her greatest fear.

After several minutes of crying, she finally stopped, but she didn't let go of Lee. She knew what had to be done, and she knew that she was going to hate it. "I… I can't stay with you." Clementine said with a sob. "I can't let you die again. You nearly died the last time I was with you."

Lee pulled her back and he sent a comforting smile towards her. "Sweet pea, how can you not know by now that I would do anything to keep you safe? I gave up my arm and risked my life to save you in Savannah. You're my world, and I'm not just going to leave."

"But Lee…" Clementine said.

"No buts." Lee said. He stood back up and extended his good arm out to help her to get up. "Now… we better get back to that one boy and Molly. I'm sure they're worried sick about us."

"I… okay." Clementine said as she sent a small smile towards Lee. She accepted the help up and stood on her own two shaky feet. She didn't feel much of anything except for a joy that she thought she would never experience.

While she and Lee were walking back to Parker's Run, Clementine slipped her hand into his. Lee smiled at the girl and he led the way back. It rekindled what used to be painful memories, but now, they were just memories. "Lee… I never told you this, but I love you." Clementine said.

"I love you too, sweet pea. You're like a daughter to me." Lee said with a smile.

It made her whole world complete again. She didn't know why she felt more complete to have Lee back in her life as opposed to her parents, but it just did.

The two soon found their way back to Gil and Molly. "Hey, everything okay?" Molly asked.

"Yeah… we just needed some time alone." Lee said.

Molly nodded before she looked to Clementine. "So… Clem… where is Christa and Omid again?" Molly asked.

"It's a bit of a walk from here, but they're at a ski lodge in the mountains. I think it's in Virginia." Clementine said.

"Yeah… that's a bit of a walk from here… but it'll be worth it… especially if Christa and Omid are there." Lee said.

"Well… let's hop to it then." Molly said. Lee took out a compass and started walking east with his fellow group members following him.

 **One Week Later**

Clementine, Lee, Gil, and Molly had finally made it to the ski lodge. They walked up to the mountain's summit. They were exhausted. It had been a long week to get even close to the ski lodge. It was rather chilly at the moment. Clementine could even see some snowflakes coming down from the sky.

"Damn… that was a long walk…" Lee said as he huffed.

"Yup… that was unpleasant." Molly said.

They continued to walk toward the door of the ski lodge. Lee had his handgun out while Molly pulled out the teenager's revolver. Lee turned to Clementine and Gil and he said, "We have no idea if anyone is inside; it's better to be careful." The two nodded and allowed the adults to go inside first. Lee and Molly surrounded the door. Lee made a gesture, and the two ran inside. Clementine and Gil stayed outside in the cold; they waited a few minutes for Lee's and Molly's return or even gunshots before entering. However, there was nothing.

"You think they're okay?" Gil asked. Clementine nodded in response.

Soon, the door opened. It was Alvin who was opening the door. Clementine's guess was correct. Christa, Omid, and the others had stayed at the ski lodge. "Hey you two… how about you get in here and out of the cold." Alvin said with a smile.

"Yeah… sounds good." Gil said with a smirk. "Glad to see ya again." He went inside followed by Clementine. She never would have thought that she would be happy to see Alvin, but considering that he decided to join Christa's and Omid's group, she was happy to see him.

Once inside, Clementine looked to the stocky man and she asked, "Did everyone make it?"

Alvin frowned and he said, "Well… Walter and Matthew didn't. We put them down as soon as we came back and we buried them. Besides that, we had a few close calls, but everyone's alright."

"That's good." Clementine said.

"You seem to be doing better. You seem to be acting like a kid again." Alvin said.

"Yeah… I was in a rough spot for a long time, but now… my life's changed." Clementine said.

Alvin went up the stairs with Clementine and Gil following behind him. "…Turns out I was losing too much blood. The walker's venom wasn't the thing that was killing me. I would have died if Molly hadn't been there." Lee explained. Christa and Omid were in front of him with Genevieve in Christa's arm. The toddler was looking at Lee and Molly with a curious stare. Sarita was next to Omid with Sarah next to her. The teenager looked more lively and cheery since Clementine had last seen her.

"My gosh… I should have known." Christa said with a frown. "I'm so sorry."

"You couldn't have known that was the case." Lee said.

"Well… either way… it's good to see you again." Omid said.

"Yeah… I'm glad to see you two again." Lee said. He turned to Sarita and Sarah and he said, "Hmm… you must be Sarita and Sarah. Clementine told me everything that happened."

"Yes… that's right. It's good to be meeting you." Sarita said. Sarah nodded with a nervous smile.

Lee looked over and he said, "I'm guessing that you're Alvin."

"That's right." Alvin said. "If Clementine told you everything that happened, she must have told you what my former group did."

"Yeah… I was angry at first, but when she told me about you and Sarah… well… I'm not angry at you two." Lee said.

"Clem… if it's not too much trouble… Can you tell us what happened to… the rest of our old group?" Sarah said.

Clementine sighed and she said, "They're still at Carver's. Rebecca had her baby… it was a boy… There was no way I could get him out of there. Carver watched over him like a hawk. Rebecca survived giving birth and she has been in the infirmary since. Carlos and Luke are probably in the yard still…"

"They tried to escape using me, but I betrayed them." Gil said.

"That's good… I don't really want to see my old dad again…" Sarah said.

"Your old dad?" Clementine asked.

"Yeah… I um… I kind of adopted Sarah since we escaped Luke and the rest of the group." Alvin said.

"Well… congrats…" Clementine said.

"Thanks Clem, and you'll be happy to know that I started to learn how to shoot. Sarita's been teaching me." Sarah said.

"Cwem!" Genevieve said as she had her arms out.

Clementine smile as Christa allowed her to hold the baby. "Hi… you missed me, didn't you?" Clementine said to the toddler.

Genevieve replied with laughing and giggling. She was happy to see Clementine again. Clementine smiled as well. She felt the same way as the toddler felt.

"Well… dinner should be ready soon." Sarita said as she walked back into the make-shift kitchen.

"Sounds good." Christa said. She looked to Clementine, Gil, and Sarah and she said, "Why don't you three relax and spend some time with each other?"

"Yeah… I think that would be cool." Sarah said. She walked over to the fireplace. Gil and Clementine looked to each other and shrugged. They walked over to the fireplace where Sarah was and spent the majority of the day playing several card games while the adults talked.

After dinner, the adults walked over with the classic card game Apples-to-Apples which was played for the remainder of the evening. At some point, Christa had to take Genevieve to bed but it was a very fun evening for all of them.

Clementine was happy that after a year and a half of trial and struggle that she was rewarded. She always thought that her reward would come from Wellington and somehow having a family when she was a fully grown woman, but that wasn't the case anymore. She had a home and a family.

 **THE END… UNLESS SEASON 3 OFFERS NEW IDEAS.**

 **A/N: Anyway… this was a fun fic. I don't get to use Genevieve very often especially since I don't think she's even an OOC. And I know this was my first fic when using a colder version of Clementine.**


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